Alex Suarez
by MissCar
Summary: On the night of his Brother's funeral, Daniel Meade meets a girl who completely changes his life. Her teeth are crooked but she is there for him during the dark days after his brother's untimely death. 18 months later she falls back into his life as his new assistant and she brings along a little 'surprise' that's going to alter everything again. B/D
1. Chapter 1

Title: Alex Suarez

**Summary:** On the night of his Brother's funeral, Daniel Meade meets a girl who completely changes his life. Her teeth are crooked and she's wearing glasses that actually resemble coke bottles but she's there for him during the dark days after his brother's untimely death. 18 months later she falls back into his life as his new assistant and she brings along a little 'surprise' that's going to alter everything again.

This is an AU that is very heavily grounded in Canon. However, I am changing certain things for the sake of realism and plot purposes. For example I think that Alex/Alexis may have started embracing being transgender before faking her death. In addition, I wanted Daniel to not be completely clueless to what was going on with Alexis' struggle with her gender identity. Also, I decided that Daniel had to be doing something in the company other than making more work for the PR department. In this story Betty's mom died in November 2004 and Alex 'died' in January 2005.

The first part of the story begins at Alex's 'funeral' in winter 2005. It was originally just supposed to be a short prologue but for everybody to stay in character I needed to extend my original idea. The second part of the story begins in fall 2006 then becomes a rewrite of the first season.

**Pairings:** Betty/Daniel, Bradford/Claire, Bradford/Faye, Alex(is)/Jordan, Alex(is)/OMC, Marc/OMC, and Amanda/? (I'm willing to listen to any suggestion, regardless of gender, for her.)

Past Daniel/other and Betty/Walter

There may be other pairings as things go forward. I'm still not sure how far I'm going to take Amanda and Daniel's relationship. I love the two together as friends and I'm okay with the two having a sexual relationship as long as it leads him straight to Betty. However, Henry is staying in accounting.

Rated M for sexual situations, language, and mature subject matter such as suicide and cancer.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Ugly Betty. If I owned Ugly Betty we would have had something much less ambiguous than Daniel following Betty to London.

* * *

**Chapter 1: My Brother's Wake**

This was the worst Dinner party ever probably because it really wasn't a dinner party. This was his brother's wake, of sorts. Maybe it was his mother's little nervous breakdown, he wasn't sure at this point. The only good thing was the food but he had no appetite. It disappeared when he saw the morbid pictures of his deceased brother everywhere. Alex would've hated this.

Daniel hated his brother because he was always perfect. He was the one that his father really loved and Daniel was just the family fuck up. He and Alex were always competing against each other whether it be for the girl or their father's affection and Daniel always felt lacking. He could never be Alex Meade, Paragon of perfection. Being Daniel just didn't cut it and at a certain point he just stopped trying. Negative attention was better than no attention at all.

But he loved his brother too. Alex was his best friend growing up, his only friend really. Most of their schoolmates only cared about him because he was rich and had the best summerhouse. Their dad was always away. No, let's be honest, his dad was always off sleeping around with other women. Because of that his mother was in and out of various rehab centers. When he was about eight years old, she spent an entire year at some center in South Dakota. They were practically raised by the nanny. Daniel thought of her as a mother figure until he was 14 and she took away his virginity. Then things got complicated.

Alex was really the only family Daniel had. He remembered playing dress-up together when they were six. His brother always loved wearing their mother's clothes and shoes. Also he did horrible things to her makeup. Daniel was usually his unwilling guinea pig. That seemed to be when Alex was most comfortable.

Daniel remembered Alex saving his ass when he pissed off the wrong guy in private school. He rescued Daniel when he was 18 and thought that it was a good idea to sleep with this girl who enjoyed handcuffs a little too much.

Daniel also remembered their summer together in Paris when he fell in love with a French hand model named Lucy. Alex was there when it all fell apart and Lucy said that she couldn't come back with him to America. She was the first woman that he ever really loved and it was a disaster. As they commiserated over alcohol, Alex said that she wasn't worth it and she obviously didn't care about Daniel as much as he cared about her. Alex also said that he was too good for her. His brother seemed guilty about something but Daniel wasn't sure what.

They knew each other secrets. Alex knew the real reason why Daniel fucked around. Daniel was just too jaded for another relationship. He loves sex he just hated the emotions that went along with it. He didn't try harder at Meade because their father would never care. He was the spare.

Daniel knew his brother's secrets too. For example Alex wore make up. Just foundation and lip gloss but Daniel knew that he did. Also Daniel is not 100% sure that all the pumps and dresses in his brother's closet belong to his long-term girlfriend Jordan. Daniel knew that his brother was bisexual or possibly even gay. His girlfriend, who Daniel wished was his, was probably just a means to please their father. Also, she was an extreme sports junkie and X-game winner.

Despite his reputation even he wasn't sleazy enough to try to sleep with a woman who just buried her boyfriend of two years (even if Daniel is half convinced that Alex also had a boyfriend for the entire course of their relationship). There have been casual hookups in the past that Daniel knew about. If you share an apartment with somebody for a few years you learn a lot about their sexual habits. He saw his brother making out with various guys enough that he was perfectly okay with it. However, Daniel was convinced that something else was going on this time. Alex has been so closed off in the last few months, as if he was hiding something big from Daniel. Maybe it was a serious boyfriend and Alex was terrified. Bradford Meade would never tolerate a gay son, so Alex tried to be straight which explained Jordan. Bradford has no trouble with the gay population in general several of his top editors were members of the LGBT community. But not his son, they had to be fucking perfect and carry-on the name.

Daniel wonders if that's what killed Alex. Maybe he kept doing these extreme sports things to get their fathers approval or maybe prove his own manhood. In the end it's what killed him. Alex didn't come back from his last adventure. The darker part of Daniel's mind wondered if the ski accident really was an accident. What if Alex wanted to die? What if he was just tired of everything?

The whole situation made him sick. He threw up when he found out his brother was dead. He didn't cry, He could not cry. He so badly wants this to not be real. He's been numb for days.

Then that could be the amount of antidepressants that his now ex fun buddy was giving him. He considered it pure luck that he was sleeping with a therapist when he found out that his brother died. Of course she decided that due to the current circumstances it would be best that they stop the sexual relationship. When he suggested that sex is what he needed to get through this, she referred him to a specialist that dealt with sex addiction. He hasn't seen her since nor has he called the number. Instead he decided to take some model named Bambi or some other Disney name to the dinner party from hell because nobody wants to be alone at a funeral even if it's being disguised as a dinner party.

The Memorial service was that morning and was horrible. Paparazzi were everywhere and his date kept posing for the camera. They may not have had a body to bury but it was still a sickening experience. He threw up twice before he even left his Apartment. His mom has been slightly sauced since they heard the news. He knew rehab attempt number 16 would be happening soon. His Mom is an alcoholic. He's known that for a long time. He knew what spa was a code word for by the time he was 10. Maybe Alex's death will be what gets her sober, although more than likely it will lead to something like cirrhosis of the liver or alcohol poisoning.

His father hid behind his normal society façade. He was more aloof than normal. The only person who could get any emotion out of him was his longtime Mode Magazine EIC, Faye Somers. She was just as heartless and cutthroat as Bradford, but she was the only one who could really reach his father when he went into ice code bastard mode.

At some point during the funeral services his mom got on stage and started talking about her lost children before she threw a shoe at Wilhelmina Slater. She was another heartless person at Meade publications and she was currently sharpening her knives to take over whenever Faye left. Of course everybody knew that Faye Somers would not be leaving Mode unless it was in a platinum hearse. The whole funeral disaster was currently being shown on repeat on Fashion TV. This was followed by scattering his brother's ashes at sea. He felt… Actually Daniel doesn't have a big enough vocabulary to express how the whole thing made him feel. Again, Alex would have hated this.

The funeral this morning was bad but tonight was worse. Somewhere in his mom's alcohol-based insanity she decided that the best way to deal with burying her oldest child, metaphorically at least, was to throw a dinner party. This dinner party included most of the editors at Meade publications. Just the fact that the dinner party was happening after a funeral was enough to make it awkward. The animosity between his mother and his father's friend made it worse. However, the situation that had the most potential for awkwardness/bloodshed was the fact that his brother's longtime girlfriend was sitting next to who Daniel suspected was Alex's longtime boyfriend, Jamie West.

Jamie was the creative director at_ Hudson_, the magazine that his absolutely perfect brother started from scratch. Jamie was the one that brought Alex's vision to the page. They knew each other perfectly. Because Daniel was not the perfect child, he was basically a lonely 'editor' at the magazine who rarely got any assignments. His major purpose was to take prospective advertisers to strip clubs and the like. Things he wrote were rarely used. Despite that Daniel knew that there had to be something more going on between Jamie and Alex when they were behind closed doors. They were just in sync with each other. He knows from personal experience that the desk in Alex's office was the perfect height for someone to deliver special 'dictation'.

He was expecting an implosion any moment now and he was not disappointed. When his mother tossed a glass of wine at Faye and Jordan and Jamie started calling each other names as well as blaming one another for Alex's untimely demise Daniel decided to get the hell out of there. Actually, everyone did. His date Jasmine or whatever the hell her name is, was already out the door. He really should have brought the therapist or at least somebody with some common sense to help him get through this nightmare with minimal scarring.

He decided that the safest place to go was the kitchen. At the very least, there will be dessert and knowing his mother, alcohol. God, he needed a drink, badly. He assumed he would be in there alone because their waiter was currently trying to keep his mother and Faye from killing each other. Instead, there was this girl there with messy hair in the kitchen, arranging the tiny chocolate cakes that will probably not be eaten. Her glasses actually resembled Coca-Cola bottles and they were taped together. She handed him a piece a cake with a smile. The chocolate cake reminded him of Alex. When they were young and something bad happened, he would always give Daniel chocolate cake. For the first time since the entire thing began he felt like crying.

* * *

Betty was going to kill her sister. She was getting so tired of covering for her. Her day was turning into a complete disaster and it was all her sister's fault. At lunchtime today, her sister literally begged for her to take over her catering job tonight because she supposedly had to go to a parent teacher conference thing for her son Justin. It wasn't until later when she saw her sister getting ready that she suspected she was lied to. It was confirmed when her sister's coworker told her that she really called off for a hot date. Because of student loans and the extra money she needed to get her braces, Betty decided to work the catering job anyway.

On the way to the subway for the long trip into Manhattan, she saw her boyfriend of six months, Walter, making out with some unidentified girl. When she confronted him, instead of apologizing he said that he was only doing that because she wouldn't have sex with him again. The first and only time was right after her mother's funeral a little less than two months ago. She let it happen because she was drunk and just wanted to feel anything other than overwhelming loss. The whole thing was horrible and over in about two minutes. She lit a candle every day until her period came. She couldn't understand why everybody said sex was so great because she didn't really like it. But she liked Walter or at the very least she liked not being alone. As her sister said, girls like her don't get many chances or choices. However, she would rather be alone than with someone that cheats on her. She ended things immediately.

Things were miserable before she arrived at the property to find out she was working at a dinner party for a funeral. The death of her mother was still so raw. Even though her mother had been battling cancer for years, her death just before Thanksgiving was still jarring. She couldn't be sunny and happy during a time like this. She could not be around people going through the same thing. Because of this, she just dished out the food and stayed in the back. She was glad she was already in the kitchen when the fighting began. She wanted to leave but couldn't besides she needed to clean up. She wasn't surprised when one of the guests also joined her in the kitchen. The majority of the other guests were currently running out the front door.

Considering that she saw pictures of him on the mantle, when she was setting up, with the deceased she assumed that at the very least he was a relative. The fact that he came in, in mental daze confirmed that.

"Here," She said passing him one of the many chocolate cakes that were supposed to go out for the dessert course with the biggest smile she could muster.

"I came in for alcohol but this will do." He said tentatively taking a bite.

"Chocolate cake always makes me feel better." She said trying to be cheery.

"I can see." He said looking at her closely. This annoyed her.

"I'm not skinny like that girl you were sitting next to. I've never been a big fan of carrot sticks." She said in an annoyed tone.

"Or throwing up in the bathroom." He added as a joke. She wasn't expecting him to say something like that.

"I wasn't going to say that." Betty said as she started to clean up the table.

"I am sure you are much too polite for that," He said pausing to look at her name tag.

Because she was pretending to be her sister for the night, it had Hilda on it. When he called her that name she chose not to correct him, instead she walked to the refrigerator.

"Trust me I know I made a mistake bringing her to this funeral, sorry, dinner party. I should have brought a date who was intelligent enough to take me with her when she got the hell out of here." The man joked as Betty handed him a glass of milk. She had the desire to laugh.

"It's not alcohol but I'm sure it will go better with the cake." She smiled at him again.

"I'm sure my mom has some red wine that will go really good with dark chocolate. Actually, I'm surprised you found milk in the refrigerator." He joked halfheartedly. "I'm also sorry for what I accidentally implied. You're not fat. My brother always says that I'm an asshole or rather he used to say that." The man broke off almost on the verge of tears, leading Betty to only drawl one conclusion.

"The deceased was your brother?" She asked kindly.

"Yes, Alex was the good brother. He was perfect and I was the one screwing around literally and figuratively. Now he's dead and I don't know what..." He broke off crying and then she quickly handed him a tissue.

"It's okay. I know everybody says this, and it's annoying, but I understand, sort of. My mom died two months ago." Just saying that made her want to cry too.

"I'm sorry." Surprisingly enough he sounded genuine. She has dealt with a lot of fake 'I'm sorry' is in the last few weeks.

"I won't say its okay because it's not. It will be soon but I'm not quite there yet. I've been playing _Gone_ on repeat a lot." She said not knowing why she confessed this to a guy she didn't even know the name of yet, his first name anyway. She assumed that he was also a Meade.

"Well, Justin is dreamy." He joked.

"I prefer Lance." She said with a blush. Why was she telling him this? For some reason he made her feel comfortable.

"That doesn't surprise me." Mr. Meade said with a smile. "Was it sudden?" She frowned at his question, not sure how to answer. Even if it takes years, death is always sudden. "Fuck, I shouldn't have asked that. I know with Alex we weren't expecting it. I mean he always did extreme sports things but I always expected him to come home." His voice was broken once more.

"It's okay." Betty said taking a deep breath before continuing. "It was and it wasn't."

"That was helpful."

"It was breast cancer. She was first diagnosed when I was 10. She went into remission about a year later. It came back my last month of high school and this time it was stage four. Instead of going to the prom, I spent the night with my mom in the hospital." As the tears began to prick her eyes she found a tissue and a piece of cake in her hands.

"Thanks for the tissue but I can't have the cake. We are not supposed to eat any of the food and it's not like I should have a piece of cake anyway. I'm trying to cut down." She said halfheartedly.

"You're working for me so I can say if you can have a piece a cake and I think you need it. When we were little, Alex always gave me cake when I was sad."

"Oh," was her only response.

"Also, I didn't mean to say that you are fat because you're not." He said stammering again.

"Okay, I'm going to need chocolate to tell you the rest of what happened anyway." She said taking a quick bite. I expected her to get better even when it became stage IV. I still had hoped that something good would happen. I expected her to come home from the hospital and one day she didn't." Betty told him desperately trying to fight back tears.

"Despite knowing it was a possibility it was still a shock." Betty said just as her fellow worker walked in.

"The client just dragged his lush of a wife upstairs to sober up so I think it's safe for us to get the hell out of here." She said obviously not realizing that Mr. Meade was with her.

"Especially, because you just insulted the client in front of his son." He said sharply.

"I didn't see you there Mr. Meade." She quickly apologized.

"Mr. Meade is my father. I'm Daniel." He said crossing has arms over his chest.

"I apologize Mr. Daniel." She stammered.

"It's okay. You will make it up to me by allowing this wonderful woman to accompany me as you clean up." Okay she wasn't expecting that.

"I don't think she's that type of girl." Okay, she wanted to laugh at that insinuation. No guy would ever want her for that.

"That's not what I mean." Daniel said angrily.

"Fine, I really can't risk getting another bad report." She said quickly.

"I can't imagine why that would be a problem." Daniel said sarcastically.

Before she realized it she was in a town car headed towards an all-night pizzeria with a guy who she just met 30 minutes earlier. This is turning into a very strange night.

* * *

Pizza was another thing that he and Alex did together. It didn't matter if it was Harvard pizza or Manhattan pizza, it was their thing. Usually after a night of clubbing they would end up together at an all-night pizza place or at some after party in Chinatown. Before Jordan, there would probably be another guy or girl involved. For some strange reason he decided to share the experience with Betty.

That was her real name, Hilda was her sister that she was covering for because she had a hot date. During the long car ride in late-night Manhattan traffic he found out a lot about her including the fact that they were both the younger sibling. Betty knew her parents loved her but her sister seemed to get more attention especially when the condom broke on prom night. Thanks to that, she was not allowed to date until she was 18. Surprisingly enough he understood this woman probably better than anyone else. She understood him too. He can't believe he cried in front of her. There was just something about her that makes him feel that he could be himself with her.

This was what he needed after this horrible day. Okay the alcohol helped. Thank God for pizza places that serve vast quantities of beer. Also, it is beneficial to be with someone who didn't see him as the ultimate Playboy. Apparently, Betty was so busy with school that she did not have a chance to read _Page 6_, so for once his reputation did not precede him. For some odd reason he actually wanted to have this woman like him and not just for his last name.

They were now on the Brooklyn Bridge. It was the first time that he has seen the city from the other side. She talked about blizzards and how the city sparkled at this time the night. Then they started to talk about Alex and how he died. He started to cry again, a little. Seriously, how did she get him to respond like this?

"I'm not handling the whole thing very well. Part of me would like to pretend that he's just on some grand world toward and he will be coming home soon. Despite scattering his ashes this morning I want to believe that."

"I felt the same way when Thanksgiving came I pictured her making tamales in the kitchen like she always did. When she wasn't there that's when it really hit me. I don't think I reacted the best way either." Betty said blushing.

"I don't see you doing anything stupid. You don't seem like the type to get drunk and have sex by the Peter Pan statue. That's more my thing." He joked halfheartedly.

"Why do I have a feeling you'd have done that?" Betty said looking up at hand.

"Not yet, but it's on my bucket list." He joked again.

"No, I didn't do anything like that, although alcohol was involved. I just lost my virginity to my now ex-boyfriend. It was horrible and I didn't even…" She actually blushed. It was adorable, actually she was adorable.

Wait why does he like her? She's not his type. She's not a model or a size 0. But he doubted she would abandon him when he needed her the most.

"If you're old enough to have one, you're old enough to say the word orgasm." He said with a smile.

"I didn't have one, so I don't have to say the word." He was tempted to say something like, 'I could fix that' but he didn't want to scare her. The fact that saying that would not be a joke terrified him a little.

"Are you talking about that prick that you caught cheating on you today?" He asked.

"Same guy, girls like me don't have many options. He said he was cheating on me because I didn't want to have sex with him again." She said with annoyance.

"You mean girls with enough common sense to know how to avoid pricks like him and players like me?"

"I mean girls who look like me. In high school my nickname was 'Ugly Betty'." He was kind of shocked about that because she wasn't ugly.

"That uniform is not exactly flattering, but you're not ugly. You're just not supermodel pretty. You are real girl pretty. They're perfect pretty and you are imperfect pretty. You don't care that you're not perfect. I like that. Any guy would be lucky to have you." He said sincerely.

"That's not what my sister says. Did you notice the teeth and glasses?" He was starting to not like this sister. She reminded him of Bradford.

"That's just the outside; it can be fixed with contacts and clear braces. I had braces in junior high." He lied about the last part to make her feel better.

"You made me feel a lot better than that skinny model I brought with me. I'll make a deal. You stop listening to your sister and I will stop listening to my father. You can do a lot better than some guy that cheats on you and I can do better than being the family fuck up." He told her of remembering all the times that his mom got completely wasted because of his father doing the same thing to his mother.

"I doubt it. Name one." She said skeptically.

"Two guys at the bar asked for your number." Of course, Daniel scared both guys away by grabbing Betty's hand and kissing her on the cheek.

"It was probably just a joke. Thank you for getting rid of them." She said graciously.

"No problem. Okay, I would so sleep with you." Her initial response was to laugh until he said, "I am not joking. I know I can do better than your ex-boyfriend."

"Didn't you tell me you sleep with everyone and your last 'girlfriend' suggested that you see a therapist for sex addiction?" She actually did finger quotes when she said girlfriend.

"Yes, but I only sleep with pretty girls. Therefore, if I want to have sex with you, you must be pretty." He said using circular logic that probably will make no sense once he sober.

"How much beer did you drink?" She asked incredulously.

"I'm not sure but I think some of the pizza toppings were soaked in alcohol." He said slurring a little.

"You're drunk."

"My brother's funeral was today. I can do anything I want, even this." That's when he kissed her. When he felt her respond in kind he came to the conclusion that she was definitely better than that model earlier and her ex-boyfriend was an idiot. Although, when the alcohol wore off he's not entirely sure that he will remember this but he hopes he does.

* * *

To be continued.

Let me know what you think. Reviews make me set my alarm an hour earlier so I can work on this story before work.

Also, before I start getting reviews saying that this would never happen, just remember both characters are in a bad place emotionally, they are meeting each other outside an environment where a sexual relationship is taboo, and Daniel mixed antidepressants and alcohol. Also this is AU.


	2. Monday Morning Reality

Thank you to everyone who read or review the last chapter. Also, thank you to everyone who has added the story to their alerts or favorites. You guys made me wake up before seven on the Sunday before Christmas so I could work on this story.

I'm currently working on the next chapter right now, so please provide encouragement.

I forgot to say this last time but the wonderful Teddy Bear is the beta for this story.

Warning: Sexual content and mentions of suicide.

* * *

**Chapter 2: Monday morning reality**

Betty was half willing to let him do what he proposed. She has never been kissed like this before. It was like she could not breathe. Walter had no idea what he was actually doing. With Daniel it was different. Her heart was beating fast and her eyes were dilated. She had no idea it was possible to do stuff like that with the human tongue. She couldn't get enough of this. Her heart was beating out of her chest. This was the type of kiss that only existed in cheesy romance movies.

When they finally pulled apart, that's when she began to panic. Girls like her don't get guys like this even if they are drunk and in a really weird place emotionally. If it wasn't for the cold temperatures, she would assume that she was dreaming. This was probably only happening because of alcohol. If Daniel were sober, this would not be happening. It was best for her to put an end to this right now.

"It's really great-I mean it's really late-not that kissing you was not great, it was. You are really good. I'm sure my Papi is waiting on the porch with a shotgun." She joked even though she wanted to continue what they were doing. His fingers were currently sneaking under her shirt going towards her bra.

"They do that in Queens? I thought only dads in the South do that. That happened to me once in college. It was scary as hell. I don't want to do it again." Daniel said slightly rambling but his hands kept moving.

"I was joking but I really do need to go home. The public transit system gets pretty much unusable if I leave much later." She said looking down at her watch.

Being somewhat of a gentleman, Daniel offered her a ride home. Although, he wasn't much of a gentleman on the ride home and she is surprised that he didn't talk her into doing anything he suggested in the back seat. It took all of her willpower not to give in. Walter never tried this much for sex. Did she mentioned that Daniel's tongue was magical and an evil part of her brain wanted to find out if what he promised was even possible?

However, she did successfully make it back to Queens without having sex in the car, although she did give Daniel her phone number. She knew he would never call or at least not for what he almost talked her into doing multiple times. Daniel just needed someone to share his grief with. She knew that they were still both drowning in loss. She was a little bit better than him. That was mostly because she knew this was coming and had a few more weeks to process it. He was a bit of a mess.

"Where have you been?" Her sister asked sleeping on the couch in her date clothes. Betty wasn't sure if she stayed up all night for her or just got in herself. It was a tossup.

"That catering job that you had me do, just so you could go out, was for a funeral." Betty started still quite annoyed despite how things turned out.

"Hey, I did you a favor. That job was for the Meade family. I know you go on and on about their magazines all the time. I thought you could make some connections." Betty wasn't completely sure if she was being sincere or not. Also, she thought that her sister could be slightly intoxicated due to all the slurring.

"I did make a connection with the youngest son. His brother died in a ski accident and he did not take it very well. Lots of wine was involved. I had to help get him home." What she said was almost true and she really hoped her sister did not see her blushing.

"Was that before or after he gave you a hickey?" Her sister asked pointing at the mark on her neck. Betty did not remember that happening but Daniel's mouth was everywhere.

"I have a hickey?" Betty asked with a squeak as her sister gave her a mirror. True enough she had a giant hickey on her neck. She would kill Daniel if she ever saw him again. How was she going to explain this?

"Look, I get it. After you were done, you stopped off at your boyfriend's house. You should have called me so I could cover for you." Her sister said smirking at her. It would have been an easy excuse but Betty did not want to use it.

"I wasn't with Walter. Actually I'm never going to be with that idiot again because I caught him making out with some skank." Betty said annoyed.

"How can you break up with him like that? Welter is a good guy. I'm sure it was just some misunderstanding. There are not that many good guys out there especially for someone like you." Her sister said essentially defending her now ex-boyfriend's behavior. This made her upset. She hoped she could blame her words on alcohol but Betty probably can only blame the truthfulness of the words on the alcohol.

Daniel who didn't really know her gave her support and told her she did the right thing. He also told her how he wished his mother could be that strong, instead of turning to the bottle every time his father did that to her.

"I know I'm not pretty like you but I deserve better than a guy who makes out with another girl behind my back. Glasses can be changed and braces were invented for a reason. That's just the outside. I'm not going to limit myself anymore by what people expect from me." Her sister's mouth was opened in shock.

"Also just so you know it was the youngest son that gave me the hickey. It probably only happened because he really misses his brother and likes talking to me, but he showed me I can do better than Walter. I know you love me but I'm a grown up now." With that Betty disappeared to her room.

The next morning, when she wakes up with a headache she is sure the entire thing was just some crazy dream until she sees her cell phone with a text message from Daniel asking her if she was okay. She was starting to wonder if she should assume anything about Daniel Meade.

Her sister asked about Walter the next day but she ignored her. Thankfully, she was too drunk to remember everything that Betty told her about what happened the night before or maybe she did not want to believe it. Walter also showed up on her front door Sunday morning. Her sister tried to get her to talk to him. If nothing else his stocking made Betty realized that she was too good for him. That evening Walter called her about six times, she hung up every time especially when he blamed her for his behavior.

When her phone rings for the seventh time in 20 minutes she was tempted to toss it out the window (it was a Christmas present from Walter anyway) until she noticed the Manhattan number.

"Hello, Betty's phone. If this is Walter, I'm hanging up again." Betty said picking up the phone.

"So the cheating bastard keeps calling you?" Even though she only spent one night with the guy, she recognized his voice. It was Daniel.

"Unfortunately, yes. My sister thinks I should forgive him. Also, thanks to your tendency to use my neck as a chew toy, I had to answer very embarrassing questions from my sister. Fortunately, she had too much alcohol to remember my answers." Betty said sarcastically.

"What exactly did you tell your sister?" Daniel asked her.

"The truth but she doesn't believe me or she doesn't remember what I actually said. Maybe she just thinks it's an alcohol fueled dream. I don't know. She thinks that I went over to Walter's house after work, made out like horny teenagers before I found some other girl's underwear in the couch cushions and that's why I broke up with him."

"That sounds pretty detailed. I think she's projecting. What type of underwear are you wearing? Is it something scandalous?" She blushed at his questions.

"I'm not answering that." Betty squeaked.

"I'm guessing the cheating moron never introduced you to the joys of phone sex." Daniel said after a moment.

"I'm not going to have any type of sex with you? You still want to have sex with me now that you're sober? Are you sober?" She asked still surprised by Daniel's behavior.

"Yes. I don't want to give into my mom's favorite coping mechanism at the moment." Daniel said with a hint of seriousness.

"That's probably good. So did you call for another reason other than trying to have phone sex?" She asked trying to be serious.

"I'm trying to convince you to have regular sex." Daniel joked or at least she hoped he was joking.

"Daniel!" She said locking her door. She seriously hoped her 10-year-old nephew did not walk in on this conversation.

"Okay, I wanted to know if you prefer Tahiti or Puerto Rico?" Daniel asked her in a random way.

"For what, Daniel?"

"For me to hide until this mess is over with." He told her.

"I have to go back to work tomorrow. Also, the will reading is at four. That just makes it all too real. I can't do this." She can hear his panic.

"Yes, you can. Just take it one day at a time. Tomorrow will be better than today." She said repeating something that one of the cancer counselors told her after her mother died. At the time it seemed ridiculous but two months later it was starting to actually make sense.

"Is that what you did?" Daniel asked her.

"My mom's life insurance plan is going to go to pay her medical bills we will not even have enough money left over to get my braces once everything is settled. Therefore, I really did not have to deal with the will thing. But as for everything else, yes. Maybe work would be a good thing. It's best to stay busy. I was actually happy for finals last semester. I was so busy working on essay for my Race, Gender, and Orientation in the Media class I kind of forgot how overwhelming things were." She told him honestly.

"I think that will not work when I see my brother's office down the hall. He was my boss." She frowned at that. She remembered how hard it was to be home and surrounded by memories of her mom. How much harder would it be to be surrounded by her at work as well?

"Oh," because she didn't know what else to say.

"I'm not sure I can take seeing someone else in his office." Daniel told her honestly.

"Going back to work may not be a horrible thing. You can honor your brother's memory by doing the best job possible at a place he loved." Betty said trying to recapture her optimistic spirit.

"I did tell you that my number one responsibility was to get prospective advertisers wasted so they would buy more ad space." She vaguely remembered him saying something like that.

"I know you do more than that. I liked your article in November's issue of Hudson." She told him honestly.

"You read Hudson?" He asked kind of shocked.

"Ever since I was little I wanted to start my own magazine. Actually I read all of the Meade magazines except Mode." Daniel's response was to laugh.

"I don't blame you. Be glad you didn't have to meet either of the evil witches in charge of that magazine Friday night. You were lucky to be hiding in the kitchen."

"Actually, you're the only one I saw. Honestly, I may have Googled you last night but I have read your work before and it's pretty good. I did not realize you were the same Daniel. The series about gender constructs in advertising was pretty interesting." She said with a blush glad that he could not see her.

"That's one of the few good articles I have done that has actually made it to publishing. Also, I just like to say that the thing with the twins and the yacht was completely untrue." He joked but she could tell that he was slightly mortified.

"I kind of thought so. You seem too nice, other than the sex addiction, thing to be like that." She said remembering some of their conversation Friday.

"I'm not a sex addict." Daniel said defensively.

"You offered to give me a…" Betty cannot even say it. She went completely crimson when he offered to go down on her in the town car on her way back to Queens. Actually he offered to do a lot of things to her and most of it was obscene. That was probably when she got her hickey. It looked worse now than it did Saturday morning.

"Blowjob," he prompted. She went Crimson again.

"Yes along with other propositions." Betty said still Crimson.

"I don't know why you find that so outrageous. I told you your normal person pretty."

"No Just give it a few days. Try to get yourself into some routine. It will make it easier." Betty said ignoring his sexual advances again. She knows it's not real.

"Can we meet for lunch tomorrow?" Daniel asked.

"Tomorrow is the first day of classes this semester and I'm also starting my new Job. But you can call me after the will reading." She offered knowing that he would need a friend.

"Okay, where are you working? I assumed that catering is not your calling."

"I've done it on occasion. But this semester I'm working at Westward animal hospital. I prefer not to give you a job description." She was cleaning up after the animals but it paid 16 bucks an hour so she took the job.

"That's not exactly in your field of study although it's probably better than catering a funeral." Daniel joked.

"Anything would be better than that. I like animals and the pay is good. I'm still saving up for braces." She had a feeling she would be saving up for her braces for the rest of eternity.

"There are a lot of paid internship at Meade publications. Some even have health insurance." Betty frowned when he said that.

"I applied for one last summer and the guy in HR told me nothing was available without even looking at my resume."

"I could still pull some strings." He said casually.

"If you did that I definitely would never sleep with you." She told him seriously

"So you're considering it now. I'm definitely more skilled than the moron and I can honestly say that you gave me the best kiss I ever had." Betty almost believed that Daniel was being sincere but it just cannot be possible.

"I'm not answering that. Good night Daniel." Betty said hanging up the phone.

As soon as she hung up her phone rang again. She assumed it was Daniel again so she did not even look at the number.

"Daniel despite what I accidentally implied earlier I'm not going to have sex with you."

"Who is this Daniel person?" Her ex-boyfriend asked.

"He's a much better human being than you." Betty said hanging up.

* * *

Two days after the disastrous funeral, Daniel was doing better. He was mostly sober for the weekend and he didn't break in to tears all the time. He also sent Bambi or whatever her name was away when she showed up at his apartment Sunday apologetic for abandoning him at the 'dinner party'. He shut the door on her even when she tried to kiss him. She wasn't Betty that was for sure.

Daniel called her Sunday evening during his mental freak out (and because he missed her). The thought of going into work Mondays scared the hell out of him but Betty talked him into showing up with her Betty wisdom. He was really starting to like this girl.

Today was also the will reading and Daniel wasn't sure he was going to survive without hitting a bar or losing the entire contents of his stomach. A crying jag was also highly probable. The reading of the will just made everything so final. Before Friday night, he was planning on being on a plane to somewhere warm and filled with alcohol to forget about this unpleasantness. However, that was what his father was expecting. He was tired of being that Daniel. He could never be Alex but then Alex could never be Alex. Also Betty's peptalk helped tremendously. Betty believed he could be more so he wanted to prove her right.

He arrived at the Hudson offices on time for once. The mood was somber. Everyone was wearing black. Alex's assistant Marisol had a box of tissues next to her desk.

No one had touched Alex's office. It was frozen in time exactly how his brother left it after the office winter spectacular, two weeks earlier. Was it only two weeks ago that his brother was standing in front of the staff making speeches about what they would be doing next year? Will any of that happen now? He was not even sure Jamie will stay on.

Daniel walked over to Alex's desk and grabbed a picture of the two as children. His father never liked it because it was of the two dressed in their mother's designer ball gowns. Alex always kept it on his desk.

"I didn't expect you to be here." Jamie said walking into the room and sat on the desk. Alex hated that.

"As far as I know I still work here. Although, I'm not sure if I feel like taking the guy from Atlantic Apparel to the Champagne room." Daniel said darkly. He was good with the advertisers. That was his special skill. Of course, they expected him to sell ads by flirting with the women and taking the guys to strip clubs. He could do more than that but no one expected it so he didn't try. Maybe it was time to try.

"I don't blame you." Jamie said with a slight shiver. "You still work here, at least until I'm no longer acting EIC and we find out who's taking over the magazine. Though, you usually don't show up before noon. I expected you to be on the first plane to somewhere warm that has vast quantities of alcohol and women. You didn't even make it through the dinner party."

"In my defense, I think everybody got the hell out of there after you and Jordan started screaming at each other. I just was nice enough to take one of the catering staff with me." Daniel said defensively.

"You know I hate her." Jordan and Jamie despised one another. Actually, Jordan has been trying to convince Bradford to get rid of Jamie when Alex refused to fire his creative director.

"I know why too." Daniel mumbled under breath. Judging by the expression on Jamie's face the man obviously heard him.

"I noticed the girl too. She's not your usual type." Jamie said obviously trying to get away from the subject of Jordan. "She looked cute in an 'I need to learn how to wear clothing that actually fits me' sort of way. But…"Jamie trailed off.

"You didn't expect me to see it?" Daniel prompted.

"Exactly, I mean you did bring Barbara to the funeral."

"I knew her name started with a B." Daniel mumbled to himself.

"The girl's name is Betty. No, she's not my normal type but she understood what I'm going through. Her mom died a couple of months ago and she has also grown up in the shadow of an older sibling. In her case, she was the good one who nobody paid attention to because her sister was a bit of a troublemaker. She got pregnant at 16. We talked for hours about everything. Sometime between pizza and the Brooklyn Bridge, I decided that running away is not a good thing. Okay, maybe she talked me into coming this morning last night. I think the best way to deal with this is to do the exact opposite of what everybody expects me to do." He couldn't stop smiling as he talks about Betty with Jamie.

"Good. I'm going to need you. I think you may be the only person who understands your brother's filing system. His assistant still hasn't found the last letter to the editor." For some reason, Jamie actually seemed sincere.

"It's usually in a folder labeled by the name of the bar where he worked on it." He answered honestly. His brother was notoriously crazy like that. Also, he did his best work at bars. The guy took his laptop everywhere.

"The scary thing is I know you're not joking about that. I'm glad you found somebody to talk to. Nobody saw this coming. I keep expecting him to walk into the room at any moment and yell at me for sitting on his desk." Jamie said staring out the window.

"I know…" Daniel started.

"I guess you would know exactly how miserable I feel right now, seeing as he was your brother. He should be here. We had so many things planned and now he's not…" Jamie's voice is shaky and he's not able to continue.

"No, I mean I know Alex wasn't just your friend." Jamie's eyes went wide.

"How much did he tell you?" Jamie asked as his eyes started to become moist with tears.

"Nothing, that's why I was suspicious, though, the fight with Jordan was a bit of a tipoff. Fortunately, I think my dad was too preoccupied with mom to figure it out. I've always known Alex wasn't quite the person that my father expected him to be but I still thought he was perfect. I still loved him." Daniel said honestly. There are things that annoyed him about his brother but the boyfriends were not one of them. (Okay, the cheating on Jordan thing was bad.)

"But he wasn't. No one's perfect. Yes, Alex was more than a friend. I'm not sure if I can do this. I actually drafted a letter of resignation." That panicked Daniel. Anyone else who took over this magazine would get rid of him even if his last name was on the front door. Jamie was one of the few that saw him as something other than the family fuck up. He wanted to stay here and do what Betty suggested.

"You can't do that. You and Alex created this magazine together. He would want you to take over." Daniel said with an odd mix of sincerity and bitterness.

"I'm not sure."

"I had the same anxiety last night and I called Betty. She suggested that the best thing I could do was honor my brother's memory by doing the best job possible."

"So that's why you arrived before noon?" Jamie asked with a smile.

"Pretty much." Daniel told him with a shrug.

"Okay, then I'm going to put you to work looking over the freelance articles for next month." Jamie said going into EIC mode.

"Alex…" Daniel started to say but stopped himself.

"Yeah, well Alex is not here and we both know I'm better with the visuals. You did minor in English in college and that's where you got your highest grades." How did he know that? He blames Alex.

He had a 2.8 GPA in college and that was only because of extensive tutoring, his last name, sleeping with a few professors, and the fact that he earned straight A's in every single one of his writing or literature classes. It was what he was good at. He sucked at business but he could write and he could definitely proofread.

"Okay." Daniel said in defeat.

When he was surrounded by articles about manicures and that it was okay to wax Daniel completely forgot about the empty office down the hall from him. Maybe Betty was right, he could do this.

* * *

Betty was starting to wonder if $16 an hour was not enough to have to clean up after the adorable cats that scratched and peed on her. By the time she got home she smelled like a litter box. Thankfully, the only reading she needed to do for the next day she was able to do during the slow times. She just wanted to take a very long bath. Unfortunately, Walter was waiting on her doorstep with half dead flowers and a new battery for her cell phone. She turned it off after he started calling her nonstop after her little slip about Daniel. She wondered if she was going to have to get a new number. There was no way she was getting back with him.

Unfortunately, her sister invited him to dinner. However, when she told her papi everything that Walter has done in the last few days, her father threw an entire bowl of fresh pico de gallo at him. Justin took a cell phone picture with her camera. After another argument with her sister about how she wasn't going to be able to do any better than Walter, she finally made her way to the bathroom.

Of course,Justin forgot to cut her phone back off after he took the picture and it started ringing as she was getting undressed. This was becoming very annoying very quickly.

"Walter, I think my papi throwing salsa at you was a pretty good indication that I never want to see you again." She said in to the phone.

"What did the idiot did this time?" She heard Daniel say indignant on her behalf.

"He tried to apologize by giving me half dead flowers and a new battery. Apparently, he thought that I was not answering his phone calls because my battery was dead not that I did not want to speak with him." Betty said as she took off her pants.

"Yet, you turn your phone back on for me. I'm touched." Daniel said sweetly.

"That was my nephew, he took a picture. I'll send it to you." Of course because she wasn't used to the phone she may have accidentally took a picture of her in the mirror mostly naked. She was also completely unaware that she took that picture until what Daniel said next.

"I don't think that was a picture of your ex-boyfriend you just sent me. If you want to send me a naked picture of yourself, you didn't need to use a silly excuse. I find the snowman panties unbelievably sexy. And just so you know Bambi or Barbie from Friday paid at least $20,000 for breast like yours. I really stand by my assertion that you are real girl pretty and maybe even moving into porn star pretty." Maybe if she wasn't mortified, she would find what he said flattering.

"Oh my God, what did I send you?" She said checking the message only to see a picture of her topless in snowman panties. She could die.

"Oh my God, can you please just delete that picture?" She asked as she sent him the correct picture.

"If you let me see the girls in person I may be persuaded." Daniel offered and maybe for the first time she realized he wasn't joking.

"I'm not going to have sex with you." She said halfheartedly. Even her resolve was starting to wane.

"Not so certain anymore are you?" Daniel asked almost smugly.

"So why did you call?" She asked trying to get him on another subject.

"Apparently, so you can 'accidentally' send me semi-naked pictures of yourself. Although the idiot covered in tomatoes is a nice addition. I needed something to cheer me up. Seriously, after what I just saw you can do a whole lot better." Again she could tell that he was being sincere.

"My sister doesn't think so." She said with a sigh.

"Well my brother didn't believe in my editing skills but Jamie does, so that's why I've been taking over Alex's editing workload before we even knew who was taking over Hudson." Daniel sounded both happy and sad simultaneously.

"So who's going to be your new boss?"

"Myself and Jamie." Again that strange mix of happiness and sadness was in his voice.

"Your dad named you to be your brother's successor? That's so great. See, I told you your dad really does believe in you." Betty said excitedly.

"No, Alex believed in me or maybe he was trying to figure out a way to leave his boyfriend the magazine without tipping our father off to what was really going on. Although, considering what else was in the will, I don't think that was the case." Now, Daniel sounded a little bitter.

"I'm confused. I just thought that your brother ran the magazine for your father."

"It's complicated. My dad and his crazy accountants decided to do some 'special' accounting to keep his bank accounts padded. Basically to save money on taxes, he placed some of the magazines in our names. My mom owns _Mode_ magazine and the food magazine. I think I own _Player_ and _Diversity Business_ but I'm not sure. Alex owned _Hudson _and _Out in Business_. Unfortunately, my dad didn't realize that his creative accounting allowed Alex to give over control of these entities to whoever he wanted after his passing. He gave the business magazine to Jamie out right. But he wants us to split Hudson. He gave me the house in Paris but the loft in New York goes to Jamie. He also left Jamie a declaration of love that caused my father to have chest pains." She couldn't tell what Daniel was thinking from his words but it probably was not good.

"Is he okay?" Betty asked with concern.

"I'm not sure but I really don't care at the moment." Now Daniel just sounded bitter. "All the money went to some charity for transgendered youth that Alex created with the help of dad's special accountants, so who knows if it's actually a charity."

"What about Jordan?" Betty asked remembering Daniel mentioning the girlfriend. Actually, Betty remembers reading an article about her. She thought that the woman was very interesting and a role model to girls like her.

Jordan received a full confession and an apology for him for using her to cover up his true self. He also left her his expensive designer shoe collection.

"Except for some of the tennis shoes I doubt she will be able to use any of it." Betty said still confused.

"Oddly enough Jordan has very big feet and they wear the same size high hills." Daniel did not sound like he was joking.

"I'm missing something."

"We all were." Daniel said taking a shaky breath "Alex is, was transgender. A couple of months ago, he told dad that he was going to go through gender reassignment surgery. My father's response was he'd rather have a dead son than a transgendered daughter. Alex gave him his wish." Daniel was crying at that point even if he was trying not to.

"Oh God." Betty said fighting the urge to fall down onto the toilet or use it for other purposes. "So it was …"

"Yes. Alex killed himself because our father is a judgmental asshole." She could hear Daniel's anguish. "The worst thing of all was the only person who was supposed to be there for the actual reading was our father but the assistant screwed up and we all heard his very final testament."

"Are you okay?" Really she shouldn't be asking that question because she knows the answer but she does anyway.

"Not really. I'm better than everyone else. Like I said, dad had chest pains and was taken to the hospital by one of his 'special friends'. I have no idea which one. Mom is most likely on her third bottle of Chardonnay and she wasn't even actually there. Jamie and Jordan have been crying nonstop even though we're at happy hour."

"You're together?" Betty asked kind of surprised.

"We thought it would be better to be completely miserable together." Daniel told her.

"Jordan and Jamie are not trying to kill each other?" She remembered what happened Friday night.

"They may be taking Jell-O shots off of each other at the moment." Again she did not think Daniel was joking.

"Isn't Jamie?" Betty was not sure how to ask that question politely.

"He is bisexual/pansexual or in his words 'a lover of good people'. I really don't know what's going on at the moment. Although, according to Marisol, my brother's former assistant, people to stupid thinks at times like these. Although, thanks for the pictures. I'm slightly less miserable now." He almost sounded cheery.

"Glad my spectacular humiliation can cheer you up during this dark moment." She said almost happy for her little accident now.

"You can cheer me up more Saturday. Before those two started 'morning' with each other, Jamie asked for my help cleaning out the loft here in New York." Betty thought this may have been an attempt to get her in his bed but she doubted it.

"I can help on one condition." She said.

"What's that?"

"See your mother. I think she probably needs you more right now than anything else, especially if your father's special friends are anything like Walter's special friends." She told him.

"You drive a hard bargain Suarez."

"I'll call you in a few days. I'm going to have to turn off the phone again."

"So, I'm not going to be able to repay your kindness by sending you a picture of me re-creating a certain scene from varsity blues?" Daniel joked.

"Good night Daniel. You can get through this. I know you're a strong person." She said trying to reassure him.

"I'm sober right now, so I almost agree with you. Good night Betty." Daniel said ending the call.

Afterwards, Betty took a longer bath than normal. She felt horrible for Daniel. He must be miserable. Although he couldn't be feeling that horrible considering what he sent her the next morning. When she checked her phone, she discovered a picture of him naked except for a strategically placed patch of whipped cream.

To be continued

* * *

A/N: I just want to let everybody know that I am keeping the canon element of Alex coming back from the dead as Alexis. I just thought that she would try to mess with her father's mind a little bit more. However, I will say it may not be exactly like it was in the show.


	3. I Think I Like (love?) this Girl

Thank you to everybody who read or reviewed the last chapter. Some people may think they know where this story is going but you will be surprised. This is going to be twisted but all roads will lead to Daniel/Betty.

A/N: I re-watched _A Tree Grows in Guadeloupe _to get Jordan's characterization down because she is going to have a bigger role in this story than on the show. I discovered that she has the same last name as Betty's future boss. So, I'm going to play with that.

Sometimes Daniel uses the wrong tense in this chapter, this was intentional. He has yet to accept that Alex is actually dead (even though she is not really dead but he doesn't know that.)

* * *

Chapter 3: I Think I Like (love?) this Girl

It was 9:30 AM and he was actually at work that Wednesday morning. He skipped yesterday because he did what Betty asked him to do and actually went to see his mother. She was a mess and as predicted was slowly drinking her way through the family's extensive wine cellar. His dad's special friend also known as the biggest bitch at Mode decided to tell her exactly why she now only had one living son. The only consolation was she didn't burn an entire lot of magazines. He spent the entire day getting her into Sobriety Hills with the help of Marisol. The woman had connections.

He called his father to let him know that his wife was back in rehab but Faye picked up once and for all cementing in his mind that his father was fucking around with Faye Somers. Maybe under other circumstances he would find this devastating but what can top finding out your brother wanted to be your sister and he killed himself because their father was an asshole. Everything else is manageable.

Daniel did realize one thing he didn't want to be anything like his father. He did not want to fuck around with girls' hearts anymore. That made the days of screwing around a thing of the past. Therefore, most of his liquor collection is in the trash and he was actually at work again before noon.

Surprisingly, Jamie wasn't there yet. According to Marisol one of the other managing editors had to fill in for the guy one can blame him. Daniel just hoped Jamie would be staying around and did not turn in his letter of resignation. Daniel wasn't sure if Hudson magazine could survive without him.

Considering the pitying looks everyone was giving him, Daniel was sure most of the office knew that the skiing accident was no accident by this point. The rumor mill at Hudson was particularly vicious and second only to the one at Mode. Of course, his father's lawyers were making everybody sign a confidentiality agreement, including Daniel, about Alex's beyond the grave confession. He didn't sign his until after he told Betty about the entire mess.

Then again maybe they all know that his mother was in rehab again. He was sure that that would be public knowledge before lunch. Marisol couldn't even look at him this morning without breaking into tears. Considering how bad the morning was going he was happy to hear Betty's voice when she called.

"What were you thinking when you sent me that picture?" Of course, maybe he would have preferred her asking another question after not hearing from her for two days.

"Good morning to you, sunshine." He joked.

"Do you have any idea what could happen if my nephew saw that picture? He's always taking my phone." Betty said slightly panicky.

"If you were really upset you would've called me yesterday. Personally, I think you liked it and probably used it for private time." He whispered that last part into the phone. Because he was just a lowly editor, his office was only semiprivate.

"I tried but your phone was off." Daniel forgot about that. They took his phone away when he was with his mom at the treatment center yesterday. Of course, he didn't want to tell Betty that because he honestly wanted to avoid all conversations related to his , he wanted to avoid anything related to his entire dysfunctional family. Flirting with Betty was his only escape from everything. Well, that and actually doing his job.

"Seriously, is sex all you think about? How much alcohol did you drink before you sent that picture? If I was a different type of person, I would have my braces money and that picture would be on page 6." Her laugh told him that she was joking about that last part.

"Only a couple of beers and I trust you enough to know you're not that type of person. I think that's what I like the most about you. I know I can tell you anything and it won't end up in the tabloids. You're a good person." After knowing her for just days he knew he could trust her with just about anything.

"I think you're a good person too, despite almost everyone else thinking otherwise. Well at least, when you're not sending me pornographic pictures that my 10-year-old nephew could accidentally see. Seriously he's always getting in my things." He just laughed at her.

"I did that to Alex too. I was always reading his diary, sorry Journal." He said somberly. "I forgot about the nephew. Sorry. I needed to do something to cheer myself up after you know." He said as an excuse. Flirting with her did get his mind off of everything but he liked her a lot, before he had evidence on his phone that she was hiding a really fantastic body underneath everything.

"That's the only reason why I'm not completely furious at you." Betty said with a sigh.

"I thought that was because you liked what you saw." Daniel said with a smirk.

"Are you still trying to have sex with me?" She asked incredulously.

"Mostly because you haven't said yes yet," He quipped.

"So you like me because I'm a challenge?" He was kind of insulted by that insinuation but mostly on her behalf. Actually, he was upset at her sister and that idiot Wilbur or whatever his name is for convincing her that she wasn't worth the notice of others. Both had her believing that she was not pretty and therefore wasn't the type of person he would be into under normal circumstances.

"No, I like you because you're Betty." He said honestly. Again, she was different than anyone he has ever met.

"If it wasn't for you, I think I would be drowning in grief and alcohol somewhere in the Caribbean right now. You believe I can get through this so I'm actually trying. Instead, I'm proofreading an article about 10 ways to make your girlfriend call you God in bed and I threw a lot of liquor in the trash." He knows that everything he is saying is true. He would have left Hudson and would be currently working his way through his trust fund as quickly as possible. Instead, he was trying to get the next issue of Hudson out without giving into the desire to reach for the scotch that was no longer in his desk.

"Is that another line of yours?" Betty asked.

"No, actually that's the name of the article. He said with a laugh avoiding any reference to the first part he said. "Although it is about sex tips, I would be willing to try number six with you." He said referring to the thing about food sex. His usual type would not be into that sort of thing but he sure she would be. "You seem like a whipped cream and chocolate sauce type of girl."

"That's because I actually like food. I really should not have called you. I was concerned about you. You cannot be in that bad of shape if you're coming on to me like this. You're supposed to be working." Betty hissed at him.

"Yes and I'm asking you for help on an article. I'm not sure any of these things would work on a woman of your caliber." He smirked to himself.

"There you go again with the bad pickup lines."

"They are not that horrible." He said in his defense.

"Daniel!"

"I think I told you about the conversation I had with the therapist, sex and flirting are my favorite coping mechanisms." He told her trying to appear as if he was joking.

"That's what worries me. I'm not that girl you took to the funeral. You're the one that keeps telling me I should value myself." Really did she have to throw that back into his face now?

"No, you actually have two brain cells to rub together." He teased.

"Be serious!" She chided.

"I don't want to be my father. My family is a complete mess because of him. Yesterday, I drove my mother to rehab for the 1000 time because my mom had to bury her oldest son, a son that killed himself because my father cannot accept us for who we truly are. Also, the fact that the rumors about my father's sleeping around with various employees in a secret sex dungeon are most likely true cannot help anything." He explained.

"I'm sorry. I guess that was why your phone was off yesterday." Betty said with genuine sympathy.

"Yes. I only put it on long enough to tell my father what was going on. His fun buddy picked up. Now, I understand why my mom burned an entire shipment of magazines in 1986." He said darkly remembering the worst Christmas of his life. Alex was the only thing that got him through that.

"What?" Betty asked. Unfortunately, Jamie walked in at that moment.

"I will explain later. Jamie just came in and I have not seen him since Monday night. How about lunch this afternoon?" He asked a little desperate to see her again.

"I have classes and the kitty hospital. I don't think you want to have lunch with someone that smells like a litter box. Maybe we can do something Saturday before everything?" Betty suggested. That just made him smile.

"Okay, Saturday. Text me your address and I will pick you up at 10." He said grinning.

"It's a date - I mean - oh I'm hanging up now." Daniel's response was to just laugh. He was starting to lo-like this girl.

"I'm surprised to see you smiling. I assume that was your Betty." Jamie said sitting on his desk. It was an annoying habit of his that drove Alex crazy. Maybe, that's why he's been doing it so much in the last few days.

"She's not my anything. She's a new friend." Daniel said stammering a little bit.

"Friend is a very ambiguous word. You have been trying to sleep with her since Saturday and you showed off that picture she accidentally sent you." Okay, he didn't remember that.

"How drunk was I Monday night?" Daniel asked worried. Maybe it was a good thing that he got rid of most of his liquor.

"You were only drunk enough to send me a picture of you covered with whipped cream. However, I actually slept with Jordan." Daniel was shocked. Yes, he definitely made the right call with getting rid of the alcohol. He probably should have put Jordan and Jamie in separate cabs Monday night.

"I thought you hated her?" Daniel asked with his mouth still wide open in absolute shock.

"No, I was just in love with her boyfriend. It didn't mean anything. We were drunk and just furious at Alex. This was our way of getting back at him. After the ceremonial cleansing of Alex's apartment, I doubt that I'm going to see her again." Okay, now Daniel was glad that Betty was going to be there with him. He's going to need her to keep the two apart. Daniel wasn't sure what was more disturbing the two going at each other's throats or making out.

"I get it." He said remembering what Betty said about the whole Wilbur thing. Jordan was probably a better drunken mistake than that prick. Actually, just about anybody else would be a better drunk mistake.

"Yes, you are chasing after Betty." Jamie said almost smirking unfortunately it did not reach his eyes.

"I'm not -I don't-I haven't done the relationship thing since Lucy." He said honestly. He doesn't really know what he's doing with Betty. He just knows that he likes this girl. She's different. Maybe, just maybe, for her he may try again. She was good at making him try.

"It's been 10 years. It's time to move on." Okay Daniel had to repress the urge to roll his eyes.

"In 10 years, when you're happy with somebody else, you can tell me that. How do you know about the Lucy thing?"

"One time I asked Alex why you screwed around with every girl in Manhattan and he told me about this girl you met when you were 20. Although in his defense, he was completely smashed at the time." Jamie said sadly.

"Alex has a big mouth." He said forgetting to use the correct tense.

"Except when it really mattered, I wish he told me about what Bradford said to him." Jamie said darkly.

"Where were you yesterday? Marisol said you did not come in." He asked with concern.

"I could ask you the same thing." Jamie said raising an eyebrow.

"Getting my mom settled into sobriety Hills." Daniel said darkly.

"Good reason." Jamie said looking guilty.

"What about you, after your walk of shame?" He asked again.

"We burned at least $10,000 worth of designer dress shoes and half of Alex's suits." Jamie deadpan.

"I'm not sure if you're joking." He said.

"I am. Neither one of us has been able to go back into the apartment yet. I did throw a rock through the window." Okay, now that he believed.

"Well it is your house now or is Dad contesting the will?" Considering the lawyers were working overtime to clean up the mess that Alex's will made he wouldn't be surprised.

"He's not as long as I signed an agreement that says I will never disclose my personal relationship with Alex Meade or the real cause of his death. Considering how much I love your brother, it was an easy decision." Jamie said with one tear rolling down his cheek.

"So he bribed you?" Daniel was not surprised. It's the sort of thing Bradford Meade would do.

"In exchange for keeping quiet about what Alex did, I get to be the new EIC of Hudson." Jamie said with a sigh.

"You should just do what he wants because you deserve it." Daniel said honestly.

"I'm still half tempted to leave. I'm never going to be able to take Alex's office over. However, if I stay I want you to be my managing editor." Daniel was flattered but he wasn't sure if he wanted to stay here. He no longer wanted to be on the first plane to Tahiti but he wasn't sure he could deal with the ghost of Alex everywhere.

"Let me think about it." He said simply.

"Is that because you don't think you can do it? I think you can." Again he was glad Jamie was sticking around.

"It's not that. This is-was Alex's magazine. I'm about as uncertain if I can stay here as you are. Also I'm going to need to go to France to deal with things with the Château there. Mom is in rehab again and I think I need to be there for her. At least that's what Betty suggested. I just need to take it one article at a time right now." He told Jamie honestly.

"The old you wouldn't have dealt with any of this. I think this is the Betty effect. I haven't even met girl and I think I already like her." Jamie said smiling.

"I like her too." For the first time in years, he wasn't just talking about the physical type of attraction. He just liked Betty.

* * *

What exactly did one wear to help a guy that you like, in an undefinable way, clean out his dead brother's apartment? Normally, Betty did not care at all about what she wore but her normal bright patterns and colors were not appropriate for such a somber occasion. She really wasn't sure what would be appropriate to wear to the restaurant that Daniel was taking her to afterwards. Half of her closet was currently on her bed. Betty has never done this before for a date and this was not a date (maybe).

"There really is a Santa Claus and he gave me my Christmas wish just a little late. I'm so happy that you're finally taking this important step in becoming a more fashionable you." Her 10-year-old nephew said smiling. "I can help you. I hope you're not planning to give any of this to charity that would just be cruel to the homeless." He said holding up a green and purple sweater with kittens on it.

"I'm just trying to find something to wear, not re-doing my entire closet." Betty said rolling her eyes. "Besides, I like that sweater."

"Yes but its two sizes too big and the wrong color. You have never cared before. Do you have a date with Walter? I think he's standing outside the house again." Justin asked. Walter still hasn't figured out after a week she is never getting back together with him to the point he was still following her and showing up at her house at very strange times of the day.

At least, her sister has backed off on trying to force her to settle for someone like Walter even if Betty was considering getting a restraining order at this point (at Daniel's urging). Unfortunately, she was trying to set her up with the meat guy down the street who is pushing 60. This was annoying.

"No, I don't think I really like him anymore." Actually, the more time she spends talking to Daniel on the phone and exchanging texts, the more she realizes that she never really liked Walter. She was just settling.

"I don't either. Besides you're much too good for him." Justin said supportively.

"Weren't you just salivating over the prospect of redecorating my closet?"

"That's just how you dress. You're a good person. However, I know you can do better than that." He said pointing to her little mermaid pajamas that her mother got her last year to match her comforter set.

"Mom got this for me." Betty said defensively.

"You'll be 21 in three months, should you still be wearing cartoon character pajamas? I loved grandmother but she wasn't the most fashion forward." Justin said sadly. He really did love his grandma and her mother so much. She knew that these last couple of months have been really hard on her nephew.

"Justin, I really don't care about what I'm wearing." She said defensively.

"Then why is most of your closet on your bed?" Justin said smirking.

"I met this guy." She started to explain.

"I knew there was a guy involved. Is this the one who sent you a naked picture? He looks a lot like Daniel Meade, the wayward son of publishing mogul Bradford Meade. He's also been on the 10 best dressed in Manhattan list for the last three years." She knew she should have deleted the picture but she had no idea how (and maybe a secret tiny part of her did not want to). Walter did not include the instruction manual with his Christmas present.

"That's because he is." That was when her nephew started squealing. For a 10-year-old boy, he was way too into celebrity gossip.

"Oh my God, he is a fashion legend. He was also Manhattan's most eligible bachelor of last year. Wait, why is he sending you naked pictures? More importantly why are you sending him naked pictures? I didn't need to see that. No one wants to see there aunt topless. Also is he the one that has been sending you text messages nonstop for the last three days? Some of them were not appropriate for a 10-year-old, such as myself, to read?" She frowned at that question and started to go completely scarlet. She really needs to start locking her bedroom.

"Serves you right for going through my things, I'm not going to talk about my love life with my 10-year-old nephew. Why were you reading my text messages?" She asked unbelievably annoyed with him.

"You have a phone and I was bored. It was much more interesting than reading your diary." Justin said with a shrug. "I will probably not do that again after what I saw. I may have nightmares."

"That's why you shouldn't go through my things. Is it that outrages that a guy on the best dressed in Manhattan list for how many years could be interested in me?" She asked annoyed after a moment. She was tired of everyone thinking that she only deserved the Walters of the world. Maybe she could have a Daniel Meade if she wanted a Daniel Meade. Not that she wanted Daniel in that way (maybe).

"Not really. I can see it. You're like an uncut diamond. If you let me make over your wardrobe everyone else will see it too. I've been researching Coco Chanel. I think her philosophy will help you a lot. Your outfits are always so busy." Personally, she thinks her nephew just wants an excuse to go shopping. He was the only 10-year-old boy she knew that would rather go to Macy's then a baseball game.

"So you believe a guy like Daniel Meade could be attracted to me?" She asked happy that at least someone in her family other than her father could see her true value.

"If he can see what I see, yes. But you don't exactly travel in the same circles." Okay, Justin did have a point there. If it wasn't for the funeral/dinner party she probably would have never meet Daniel Meade. That thought makes her sad for a moment.

"Remember two Fridays ago?" She asked Justin.

"When mom lied about having to go to a parent teacher conference on a Friday night, so you would take over her catering job?" Justin asked.

"You knew about that?" She asked slightly shocked.

"I know everything. I'm fabulous like that." He said almost taking a bow.

"Anyway, it was for the Meade family for the funeral of their son Alex. Daniel is having a hard time and I can relate. I've been helping him." She explained but Justin just nodded his head.

"So you guys are friends that send each other inappropriate text messages and photographs?" He didn't seem that surprised that worried her. Fifth-graders shouldn't know about that sort of thing.

"The photographs were an accident. I didn't know how to use the phone and Daniel sent me one in kind." She blushed.

"I don't think that photo was an accident." Justin said a little more excited than someone should be.

"Sometimes, I think the only way Daniel knows how to interact with a woman is to flirt with her. It's just what he does." She said trying to get away from things that were inappropriate for a 10-year-old.

"So you're getting ready for a date with him tonight at 8:30 AM?"

"Actually, he is picking me up at 10 and it's not a date. I told you his brother died and I'm there for moral support. I'm helping him clean out his brother'sapartment and we may go out to dinner afterwards." She explained to her nephew. However, he was already digging through the contents of her bed.

"Oh my God, I only have 90 minutes to get you ready for a date with Daniel Meade. You should've told me last night. We have no time to buy anything new. No wonder you were going through your closet like this." A sweater landed on her head as Justin started to panic.

"I told you it's not a date." She said as she pulled the sweater off of her.

"I may be only 10 but I know better. You're cleaning, so jeans would be best." Justin said right before he went straight for the other half of her closet. After he chose a nice outfit that consist of jeans and a sweater that Justin forced her to buy last month he started on her makeup and hair. She drew the line when he brought out tweezers and wax. Her sister was still sleeping so she wasn't around to ask questions, thankfully.

Of course, when 10 o'clock arrived it wasn't Daniel who arrived to her house in a sports car but rather a dark-haired woman that Betty remembered from last Friday although it was hard to tell without her crying. Considering what she now knew, she could understand why.

"Are You Daniel's friend Jordan?" Betty asked letting the woman into her house, trying to hide her disappointment that Daniel was not there.

"I think I preferred that to the woman who lost her boyfriend of two years in a freak skiing accident." Her voice was bitter and Betty saw her make finger quotes at the word accident. This really was a mess. Betty was just about to offer condolences when her nephew started squealing again.

"Oh my God, you're Jordan Dunne. I love you. How do you know Jordan?" Justin asked turning to her.

"How do you know who Jordan is? You're not into sports at all." She asked surprised.

"She's a fashion icon. She swam the English Channel last summer in a leather bikini. Also, Jordan has been named to Mode's top 10 best dressed athletes list for the last two years. You're the only reason why I even know what the X games are." Justin said excitedly. She should've known it had something to do with fashion.

"My uncle does own a fashion magazine in London. I had to pick up something." Jordan said graciously.

"You're one of those Dunnes? You don't sound British." Justin said slightly puzzled.

"I was raised here. My mom was kind of the black sheep of the family for getting pregnant out of wedlock and she decided that she'd rather be an entire ocean away from her family." Both she and Justin looked sad for a moment.

"Don't worry about it. She finished med school just to spite everybody. She's a top cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic. She's the one who taught me to be fearless. Though, I may not be base jumping for a little while." Jordan said with a frown.

"I can understand after…" Betty started but trailed off realizing that probably wasn't the best thing to say. Instead, she grabbed her purse and headed to the car, after telling Justin to behave himself, while his mom was still sleeping.

"So where is Daniel?" She finally asked as she slid into the passenger seat of Jordan's car.

"Daniel is currently trapped in a car with his father and mother in an attempt to get his mother back into rehab. Claire arrived at his apartment last night after escaping Sobriety Hills, now they're trying to get her somewhere else. He asked me if I would come get you." Okay, that was bad. Despite everything going on with his mom he still thought about her.

"You didn't have to."

"Yes, I did. There's no way I'm going to be in that apartment alone." Jordan said almost trembling. "Bungee jumping is less terrifying."

"I thought Jamie was going to be there- I guess that would be complicated." Betty said after a moment remembering what Daniel told her Wednesday.

"I guess Daniel told you a lot of what's going on?" Jordan asked.

"I know. I'm not one to judge considering what happened after my mom died with my now ex-boyfriend who also cheated on me."

"Sorry." Jordan said after a moment.

"Also, I met Daniel last week at the dinner party. I saw you and who I presume to be Jamie fighting with each other." Betty explained.

"I guess it was stupid for us to argue over who was more to blame for Alex's death. We are both equally guilty. Neither one of us could save him." Betty saw a tear running down her cheek as she drove.

"I really don't know what to say. If I say it's not your fault, you'll probably still blame yourself. I blamed myself for my mom dying and it was cancer. I know I hate it when people said 'I'm sorry' when they didn't mean it. Also, I can't say 'I know how you feel' because I don't think anybody does in a situation like this." Betty said with a sad smile.

"Jamie does." Jordan said with half a laugh.

"I was trying not to mention that." She said sheepishly.

"There's no point in being polite, this is not a polite situation. There are no words. They don't exactly make a card for your boyfriend committing suicide because he felt trapped in the wrong body and finding out that he's been cheating on you for your entire relationship with a guy that he's actually in love with. Wait, I'm not supposed to tell anybody about that." She said referring to the confidentiality agreement that Daniel told her everybody had to sign. Bradford Meade wanted to make sure nobody found out that his oldest son committed suicide.

"I already know. Daniel told me before signing. I'm sure I could make a card, maybe something with glitter and chocolate inside. Chocolate makes everything better." Jordan smiled at her joke.

"I don't want to talk about Alex right now. It's going to be bad enough when we pack up the apartment that we shared for the last year. I haven't been inside since it happened. I've been staying with some friends that live in Queens. " She personally thought it was bizarre that Alex left the loft to Jamie when he was living there with Jordan but she felt it was best not to ask about that.

"I personally want to know more about the woman that somehow managed to single-handedly not only get Daniel Meade to give up his favorite sport of women hunting but also get him to get over his crush on me." Betty blushed at that.

"I'm not that interesting. I'm 20 years old. I'm a third-year student at Queens College, majoring in Media and Marketing. Since I was six years old, I wanted to own my own magazine. You're a lot more interesting. Did you really swim the English Channel in a leather bikini?" She asked.

"Yes. Trust me you are a lot more interesting than you think." Jordan said before asking her a lot of different questions about school and her family. She laughed a lot during the telling her various anecdotes regarding her nephew, including him getting her dressed this morning.

Betty asked Jordan questions about her travels all over the world. She has actually visited every _contenant_. Betty also asked her questions about all the sports that she's done. Her favorite is base jumping. For example, in October she jumped off the new River Gorge Bridge for the third time with Alex. She was originally planning to jump off a waterfall in South America later this year but that's not happening now. Actually, Jordan said she wouldn't be able to jump out of anything for a while. It was the only time that Alex is mentioned during their conversation. After that, Betty quickly changed the subject to what it was like growing up with a cardiologist for a mother. She had a really interesting conversation with Jordan during the hour it took to get to the loft in Manhattan.

"Now, I know why he likes you so much. We have to do lunch. I'm going to be in New York for a few more weeks until I figure out what I'm doing next." She realized that for all her bravery Jordan seems almost as lost as Daniel was.

"Maybe next Saturday, that is if I don't have to work at the animal hospital. I really hope I don't have to." She said with a frown. Earlier she told Jordan about how much she really doesn't like her job at the animal hospital.

"I don't think I would want to clean up after very ill cats either." Jordan said smiling.

"It's not that great. I'm tempted to take Daniel up on his offer to help me find it internship at Meade." She says only half joking. At least that would be in her field of study.

"I'm sure he will as long as you thank him properly." She blushed at that.

"I don't want to get a job that way, not that I could. I'm not that type of person." She said not sure how she should respond.

"I didn't mean it like that, seriously anyway. I know the tabloids are a little horrible to Daniel and I did say his favorite sport is extreme dating but he's not that bad. Unlike a lot of my other friends, he's actually checked up on me in the last few days. If he was as sleazy as everyone thinks he is Daniel would have tried to sleep with me Monday night when I found out my boyfriend of two years killed himself." Jordan explained.

"He said even he would not hit on somebody who just lost her boyfriend." Betty told her.

"Though, that probably would've been better than what did happen." Jordan mumbled under her breath. "He has standards and I think he likes you." That revelation caused her to trip on the sidewalk.

"As a friend, girls like me don't end up with guys like that. Also there is the little sex addiction problem." She said as Jordan helped her get up from the ground.

"You mean girls with common sense and standards. Also he's gone cold Turkey. Thanks to you, Daniel Meade has been celibate for eight days and has not made a single appearance on Page 6." Jordan told her.

"Eight days?" She repeated raising an eyebrow.

"For him that's a record." Said a man that she vaguely remembered from the Friday before.

"You're Jamie, right, Daniel's boss?" She asked.

"I am, if I take Bradford's indecent proposal. Besides, I'd rather be known as that than the guy whose lover decided to kill himself because his father is a judgmental prick. I can say that because both of you already know." He spat out bitterly.

"I said almost the same thing." Jordan told him. "I thought you would be inside already." She said sitting beside him on the steps.

"Can't do it, I thought it would be easier when you got here and it's never going to be easy." Jamie explained.

"And now?" Betty asked.

"Still not ready."

"If it makes you feel better, we did not clean out my mother's closet for an entire month. You don't have to do this today." Betty said sympathetically.

"Yes we do. I want this apartment on the market as soon as possible. I can't…" Jamie was crying and surprisingly enough Jordan was handing him tissues.

"I think we passed a bakery a couple of blocks away. Chocolate cake makes everything better." She suggested.

"That's a good idea."Jordan said pulling Jamie off the steps.

"I think I like this girl." Betty heard him whisper as they started walking.

"I do too." Jordan added.

* * *

Two hours later they were in the living room trying to figure out what to do with Alex's extensive sports equipment collection. Okay, there may have been a half-empty bottle of wine and the remains of a very large chocolate cake sitting on the table. She has heard lots of crazy stories about Alex and Daniel over the last two hours including one about Daniel obliviously walking in on his brother receiving 'dictation' from both Jamie and Jordan on separate occasions. Unfortunately, it took her a few minutes to figure out what dictation actually was. She may have choked on a piece of also heard more about Daniel's 'dating' history than she ever wanted to.

"Don't get us wrong Daniel is not a horrible person. He just likes sex and hasn't found someone to settle down with especially after she we will not name." Jordan said slurring a little. She may have more wine than anyone else. She may have thrown all of Alex designer shoes out the window when she was packing her own things.

"You know about Lucy?" Jamie asked and Jordan just nodded her head.

"Okay, who is Lucy?" Betty asked kind of confused.

"The reason why Daniel's competitive sport of choice is fucking." Jordan explained.

"Or at least it was until he met you eight days ago." Jamie mumbled under breath.

"Alex was drunk one night and told me the whole sordid story. He and Daniel decided to spend the summer after Alex graduated college together in Europe. Daniel met this French girl. A beautiful hand model named Lucy whose mom and dad made Bradford seem like a nice person. They were the ultimate stage parents. He was completely in love with her and asked her to marry him." Jamie explained.

"And she said no." Betty suggested and the two just nodded their heads in agreement.

"Pretty much and ever since he has been sleeping his way through Manhattan until he met you." Although, the way he said it Betty knew Jamie was hiding something.

"It has only been eight days." She explained.

"My parents got married after knowing each other for three weeks. They've been married for 40 years." Jamie explained. "You are good for him. He would be a drunken mess without you."

"Or trying to get into my pants." Jordan added after a moment.

"Instead, he is dealing with his mother." Jamie said slightly shocked.

"Who is now in the wonderful hands of the doctors at Pine Crest." Daniel said sarcastically.

"Daniel, you're here!" Betty said running up to hug him. He deserved a hug after all the last few days. Instead, she found his lips on hers once more. Her mind went fuzzy again and she felt that spark again. Then his tongue entered her mouth and her heart froze.

"I'm sorry I am late." He said pulling away after leaving her breathless.

"It's okay. You had to deal with your mom." She really did understand.

"Yes apparently I missed chocolate cake, wine, and gossiping about me. So what horrible things did you guys tell my girlfriend?" Betty wasn't sure who was more surprised by that last word, her or Jordan and Jamie who were currently choking on their wine. However, she was starting to warm up to the idea.

* * *

By Friday night, Daniel was terrified of seeing Betty again even though he really wanted to. Actually, he was terrified by the prospect of going out on a date with her. He didn't date. He 'hooked up' with random girls at parties or clubs, but he didn't date. The last time he dated anybody was in college and that resulted in him crying into his drink in an unknown club in France. He didn't want to go down that road again but he does not want to end up like Alex. Now, he was figuring out what type of first date a girl like Betty would like. The fact that he wanted something more than just convincing her to sleep with him scared the hell out of him.

Of course, his mother stumbling around his front door completely sauced, mumbling about South Dakota and lost children pretty much ruined his plans to find the perfect date or at least try to convince Betty to have phone sex. Alex wasn't there to play the role of the good son and his father was too preoccupied to care.

His mom slept on his couch as he tried to find a rehab center that would take her. He found one called Pine Crest, an hour outside of the city that specialized in grief counseling and substance problems. They agreed to take her after some begging on his part.

Jordan agreed to get Betty from Queens probably because she didn't want to be alone with Jamie and she was already in the borough. She refused to talk to Daniel about what happened with Jamie Monday or anything Alex related in general. Daniel was worried about her and not in an 'I want to have sex with her' sort of way as he was in the past. He always liked Jordan and maybe he was starting to see her as a friend. She was one of the few people who knew how truly screwed up everything really was. It would be nice to have one female friend that he hasn't tried to have sex with. He needed a real friend right now.

This trip to the rehab center was hard, made worse by the fact that his father decided to actually join him. Apparently his angry phone message was enough to get his father to actually do something. The drive involved his mom screaming and crying at Bradford the entire way. The drive back was worse, because at least before he could focus on his mother. Now he was the car with a man really didn't like at the moment.

"I'm pleasantly surprised you are helping your mother like this." He said it as if he expected him to do anything but. This is not surprising. However, he promised himself that he would do the exact opposite of what was expected of him by his father to get back at him for Alex.

"Well, I don't have much of a choice since you're busy drowning your regrets in Cognac and Faye Somers. I need to be a grown-up now. Thanks to you, Alex is not here. I'd rather have had a new sister, then a dead brother. Do you regret anything?" He asked after a moment.

"You don't understand." His father said staring at the road vacantly.

"Alex killed himself because he couldn't live up to your expectations and I have practically killed myself living down to the same expectations. I'm not going to do this anymore. I can't be perfect but I can be myself. That's what I'm going to do even if that means driving mom to rehab again." He said trying not to scream.

"Jamie feels that you should become a managing editor. It may be good for you." His father said avoiding everything he just said. This was typical. There family motto should be everything is wonderful when you're in denial.

"I'm thinking about it." He said vaguely allowing his father to change the subject. What was the point of getting in a shouting match at the moment?

"Are you planning to go to Rio?" His father asked. Daniel rolled his eyes.

"You really think that little of me?" Daniel asked his father, he received no answer. "No, I'm not planning to run off to Rio or anywhere else." The 'because Betty won't let me' was left unsaid. "Though, I will have to go to France next month to sort out the Château, if mom is better. That may take a while."

For some reason he wondered if he could convince Betty to go with him. If Daniel needed emotional support to deal with everything in Alex's New York apartment, he would really need her for the house in France. Okay that was a lie, he needed her support but he really just needed her. If he hasn't been constantly calling and texting her for the last seven days he would probably be joining his mom at Pine Crest right now.

"You should take your mother with you. France would be good for her." His father said not looking at him.

"Being away from a husband who is screwing half of the staff would be good for her." Daniel mumbled under breath. His father said nothing in response. Thankfully, the uncomfortable silence was broken by Jamie calling when he neared the city.

"Where are you? You were supposed to be here hours ago to help me clean out your brother's house with Jordan and your Betty. Instead, we are trying to hide your brother's wine collection from Jordan, who just threw about $20,000 worth of shoes through the front window." Judging by his tone Jamie really wasn't joking. Unfortunately, because he was driving, he had Jamie's call on speakerphone and his father heard everything.

"I should be there in about 20 or 30 minutes, depending on traffic. You should probably just give her the wine. At least, you guys are not fighting or doing other things." Daniel said referring to Monday night.

"Your Betty did not think it would be a good thing. Also, alcohol is what led to other things and Jordan has already had half a bottle with the chocolate cake." Jamie explained. Daniel was a little worried.

"She's not my Betty. I told you, she's just a friend that's gracious enough to help. Apparently, we need a lot of help." Daniel mumbled the last part under his breath.

"A friend that you send naked pictures to!" Jamie explained.

"Who is this Betty? What did you tell her?" His father asked raising an eyebrow.

"I will call back later." Jamie said, ending the call fast.

"I didn't violate your precious agreement." That was technically true because he told her before signing. "She is someone that has been helping me with everything. Her mother died a couple of months ago of breast cancer, so she has an idea what I'm going through." He explained with barely concealed animosity.

"You actually did go to a grief support group?"

"Yes, it's been helpful. I met Betty there. She's good at listening to me." It was not a complete lie because he and Betty sort of made their own support group.

"I thought that meant the same thing as 'Book club'." The man said referring to the excuse he gave his father two days ago when he avoided having lunch with his father as well as the word he uses on his schedule for leaving work early to 'hook up' with someone. Marisol was a genius when it came to creating excuses to avoid unpleasantness. Unfortunately, she was moving to another position in the company. Even she couldn't take dealing with Alex's empty office any longer. He knows they need to take care of it but no one has been able to deal with boxing up the things in there.

"Although, I didn't think you would be using it as a dating service." His father mumbled.

"The naked picture thing really was an accident." That was partially true on Betty side anyway.

"How exactly do you accidentally send someone a naked picture?" His father asked raising an eyebrow.

"She was in the bathroom when I called her Monday after everything that happened because I just needed to talk to her. Unfortunately, she doesn't know how to use her new cell phone." He said explaining everything to his father.

Actually, he talked about all the conversations that he's been having with Betty lately including her agreeing to help him with Alex's apartment if he helped his mother. Of course, he left out any details that will confirm that Betty knew what really happened to Alex. He also decided to bring up the former stocker bastard boyfriend just to make his dad feel guilty about the fashion bitch that will not be named. His dad suggested that he talked to the lawyers about the Wilbur problem.

"I think I want to meet this girl." He said when Daniel dropped him off.

* * *

He stood outside the house for 15 minutes before trying to go inside. When he hears everyone talking about Lucy he knows he has to go in there. Kissing Betty was a nice incentive. It was just as good as it was last week, despite the fact that he was completely sober. Actually, it may have been better because of that.

Though, he didn't mean to say the word girlfriend. Apparently, everyone else was equally surprised so he decided to avoid that elephant as well. Thankfully, Betty kept things on track.

"They told me mostly good things. Did your brother really force you to sleep on the roof in your underwear when you were 12?" Okay, he really should not have left her alone with his brother's boyfriend and girlfriend. Apparently Alex is a blabbermouth in the bedroom.

"More than once." Daniel said giving her another quick kiss or at least it was supposed to be quick. Instead, he felt the kiss deepening and he lost his balance. Okay, they may have fallen on the couch.

At some point he thinks he hears Jordan say, "I'm starting to feel like pizza."

"Ken's is down the street." He heard one of them say. At that point he's preoccupied with Betty's tongue so he doesn't know who. Really, he doesn't understand why that Wilbur guy was screwing around when he had this.

"There are condoms in the upstairs medicine cabinet along with other supplies." Jamie yelled but he was too busy with her lips to actually hear him.

* * *

"Do you think it's safe to go back yet?" Jordan asked Jamie as she picked at her third slice of pizza. Three weeks ago if you told her she would be having pizza with the guy she suspected her boyfriend of sleeping with, she would say that you were crazy. Of course, that was before said boyfriend committed suicide by jumping out of a helicopter. Jamie wasn't horrible, and like she told Betty on the drive to Manhattan, he was the only person in the world who knew what this was like.

"Probably not, Daniel sent a text asking for some alone time. Even if I wasn't 100% sure they were engaging in sexual relations on our dead boyfriend's couch, I just can't go back there. Is it wrong that I just hope Alex would walk through that door telling us this is a big joke? It doesn't even feel like he's dead." He said somberly taking another drink of his beer. They were both trying not to get as drunk as Monday but she was already halfway there. She couldn't go through her dead boyfriend's possessions and pack up her own belongings sober, especially because of the circumstances of his death. Fuck Alex. She didn't know it was possible to love and hate someone simultaneously until this week.

"I feel the same way. Why the fuck did he not tell us? We could have supported Alex." She said angrily.

"I don't know. Despite all his daredevil antics, Alex has always been a coward, especially when Bradford was concerned. I should've made him come out to his father. Considering what happened…" Jamie said on the verge of tears.

"Bradford is the bastard in all this." She said handing him a tissue from her purse. She's gone through 20 boxes of tissues since Marisol called her in tears 13 days, three hours, and 22 minutes ago to tell her that her boyfriend was dead.

"He was terrified of not living up to Bradford standards. In the end, it's what killed him." Jamie's words were so true. She just hoped the same would not happen to Daniel.

"How long were you guys together?" She asked not wanting to talk about Bradford any longer. When this was a preferred subject of conversation, the situation was dire.

"We hooked up a couple of times in college. I was two years older than he was and we didn't meet until two months before I graduated. But he did help me get my foot in the door here at Meade. It got serious about three years ago when he asked me to help him create Hudson." Those words made her realize that she didn't know Alex at all.

"So I guess that makes me the other woman." She said bitterly, finishing off her drink in one go.

"We have - had an open relationship. Don't feel bad." He said trying to comfort her.

"You still hated me." She said looking up at him.

"You hated me and no, I never hated you. I was jealous but I didn't hate you. You were just the only one who had the potential to take him away from me. You were the only one that he was with where it was more than just sex or a means to pretend he was perfectly heterosexual." He said with genuine sadness.

"I didn't hate you I just wanted all of Alex. You were the only one who really has his heart. If Bradford was not such a prick and Alex came back as a girl, would you have stayed with her?" She knew in her heart that she would do anything to have Alex back even if it meant dealing with Alex as a female and letting her go. She would've rather had a female Alex as a good friend, then have no Alex at all.

"I loved- love Alex. Nothing else mattered." He was crying again and so was she.

"This is such a mess." She said grabbing another tissue.

"At least, something decent has come out of this horrible, completely fucked up situation. Daniel Meade has finally met a girl that made him want something besides a quick fuck." Jamie said almost laughing.

"I've known Daniel for two years and I've never seen him this happy before. Considering what a crappy 14 days it has been, I consider that a miracle." Jordan said as the tears began to subside a little.

"It's been a bad few days but it doesn't seem as bad when she's around. It's like I can breathe again and I'm starting to think that just maybe we can get through this." Jamie said and she agreed.

"Thank God, I'm not the only one who has noticed it. I asked her out to lunch next week. I like her. She's a real person." For her own sanity it was good to be around someone who wasn't offering fake condolences or asking her how she was every 30 seconds. All her other friends were fawning over her and completely oblivious to the truth. Thanks to her agreement with Bradford, she was legally bound to tell no one about Alex's suicide or the fact that he was in love with the guy in front of her.

"I like her too. I just hope he doesn't screw this up. He's already in a better place." Jamie said taking another drink of beer.

"We just have to make sure he doesn't."

"You want to play matchmaker?" Jamie asked raising an eyebrow.

"It would give us something to do. I need a distraction." She would do anything to keep from thinking about Alex.

"Well it would be better than doing each other. I'm in." Jamie agreed.

"It was a bad choice. Maybe, if Alex was not such a coward, we could have been friends." Jordan said wistfully. She didn't have that many friends that understood her.

"At the very least, we could have talked him into a threesome." Jamie said with a smirk. It's the first genuine smile that she has seen from him since this all began. Maybe, things were already improving.

To Be Continued.


	4. Tongues, Thai food, and Target

Thank you to everyone who read or reviewed the last chapter.

I just want to let everybody know that I now have an account on Archive of Our Own. I'm in the process of transferring stories to that site but I've decided to go back and edit all the stories before I post. I may even be adding a little bit more to certain stories.

I will continue posting on for now, unless the policies get any worse. However, the chapters I post here will be edited for content.

This is an edited chapter

Warning sexual content

* * *

**Chapter 4: Tongues, Thai food, and Target**

Contrary to what Jamie assumed, she and Daniel did not need any of the 'supplies' from the upstairs bathroom. She did not let Daniel get that far. Okay, he got further than Wilbur- she means Walter did, except for right after her mom's funeral and they were together six months before she realized he was slightly deranged.

She didn't feel pressured to go farther, like she did with Walter. He may joke about it but Daniel was letting this go at her pace, which was unbelievably slow compared to what he was used to. Compared to Daniel, she might as well still be a virgin. She wasn't ready for traditional sex but she wasn't opposed to trying some of the other things that Daniel suggested, because at the very least she was curious. (Okay so she may have a slight fear of ending up like her sister, even though she loves her nephew which is why she was still hesitant now that she knew Daniel was serious.)

Today she had her first encounter with oral sex. It wasn't as creepy as she thought it would be. She actually liked it. Daniel didn't make her feel stupid for doing something wrong or asking questions. He made her want to try new things and become comfortable with her own sexuality.

"I wish I met you years ago? You are absolutely brilliant at everything you do." Daniel said from the guest bathroom after cleaning up from there afternoon activities. Daniel was currently dressed in a pair of sweatpants that he kept at his brother's house for emergencies. The pair of jeans he was wearing before were ruined and let's just leave it at that. She was currently dressed in something they found buried deep in Alex's closet that almost fit her, even if it was a bit long. Why did she have a feeling that this particular dress did not belong to Jordan?

"Up until about four years ago, that would have been illegal in the state of New York." She said just as he kissed her again. "Technically, I'm not even supposed to drink for three more months."

"Even though you had about three glasses of wine today." He said smugly.

"It was better me than Jordan. This whole thing with your brother is really hard on her and she's having trouble dealing with everything." Betty explained.

"I won't say anything to your dad. Sometimes I forget how much younger you are than I am because you are so much more mature than I am. Compared to me, you have been a grown-up for years. Where I still act like I am a college kid, forever on spring break. Betty, you helped your sister raise her son. You even gave up an internship at the Washington Post just so you could spend the summer with your mother."

She told Daniel about that when he was trying to convince her to let him find her a better job than clean up after sick cats.

"They're my family, it's not a sacrifice. I know you're a good person and would do the same. You're not that guy that everyone thinks you are. If you were, Daniel, you wouldn't be here helping Jamie and Jordan clean out your brother's house. You definitely would not have driven your mom to rehab twice in the same week. If I thought you were the player of New York, I wouldn't have done anything with you earlier, even if we did not do that." She blushed, as she remembered earlier. .To get certain inappropriate images out of her mind she decided to start boxing up some of the things in the bedroom.

"Actually, I don't mind. I rather do what we did than what I did last week with Bambi. Even though we didn't have 'real' sex, what I did with you was a lot more intimate." Considering the fiery look that Daniel was giving her she knows that he means that.

"You actually slept with somebody named Bambi?" Betty said pulling away.

"I don't know; that probably was not her real name. See I actually remember your name; therefore, what we did was more important." He joked but Betty knew there was some truth to what he was saying.

"The sad thing is I know you're being sincere." Betty said with a frown.

"I know you are now very well aware of my crappy reputation which is why you don't want to go any farther." Daniel said with a hurt look in his eyes.

"I also know that supposedly crappy reputation is because the last time you gave your heart to somebody she broke it into little pieces. Due to the fact the first guy I ever slept with cheated on me with some random girl because I didn't want to sleep with him again, I am just as relationship shy." Betty explained.

"I really should not have left you with my brother's widows." Daniel said shaking his head.

"I don't think you can be a widow if you were never actually married in the first place. Also, in Jamie's case, if he was married to Alex he would be a widower."

"You know what I mean." Daniel said with a sigh.

"Yeah, I do. So is it true that you have not had a real relationship since Lucy and you're afraid to try again?" Betty asked.

"It's more complicated than that."

"Tell me." Daniel explained the whole story of Lucy as they finished packing up the room. He cried a few times. She wasn't sure if he was crying for the one that got away or his dead brother but she's starting to think his tears are more Alex related than anything else.

"She really did break your heart?" She asked him once he was done.

"Pretty much." Daniel said as he threw a bunch of things in one of the boxes.

"Yet, for the last 10 years you have been letting her ruin your life." She felt so sad for him.

"You're afraid to have sex with me because your last boyfriend cheated on you." Okay, that accusation made her angry.

"That's not it. You and I come from two different worlds. Guys like you don't 'date' girls like me. I had to have my nephew dress me this morning. I'm just waiting for my carriage to become a pumpkin again." She tried to explain.

"I think I like your nephew. He has good taste." Daniel said trying to complement her. It did not work.

"That makes me feel so much better."

"Betty, I don't care what you're wearing. Personally, I prefer if you're not wearing anything." Her response to that was to throw a pillow at him.

* * *

Seriously why does he always put his foot in his mouth around her? He's always saying the wrong thing. If this was just about sex, he wouldn't care, but this was about her. He hated hurting her.

"Okay, that came out the wrong way." He said going over to Betty. "What I'm trying to say is I like you. I really like you. I like spending time with you. I like talking to you. You are probably the only reason why I'm in this house and not at the bar down the street with Jamie and Jordan. I'm not going to disappear the moment that I get to come inside you. I will keep telling you this until you actually believe me." She blushed again at his words.

He really loved making her blush. Because she was near virginal, anything sex-related made her cheeks go this brilliant shade of pink. He enjoyed it. He almost enjoyed as much is making her scream out his name.

"I'm not worried about that." She said not looking at him, which of course meant that she really was worried about that.

"Yes, you are," he spat back." Just to alleviate your other crazy fear, if the condom happens to break, I will not disappear." The way she blinked told him that she was scared of that too. He can't blame her because of what happened with her sister.

"How'd you know me so well already?" She asked with acute expression. He loves the way her nose scrunches up sometimes.

"I don't know. Probably, the same way you know me. You know I'm half convinced that you dress the way you do to scare people away. It's like if they can't look past the crazy colors to see the real you, they're not worth your time." Again, she wasn't looking at him, which told Daniel that he hit closer to the truth than she would've liked.

"I dress the way I do because it's what I can afford." She said defensively. He did not believe her.

"I've been told by Marisol that there's this wonderful store called Target that sells designer styles at Wal-Mart prices. Apparently, they're all over New Jersey and the other suburbs." He joked.

"Have you actually been into a Target?" She asked.

"Not really. Designers usually just send me stuff. I do a lot of the fashion articles for Hudson." He said with a shrug. He can't remember the last time he actually had to go shopping for himself.

"That must be nice." She said sarcastically.

"I'm not as spoiled as you think I am. After we are done here, I'll let you take me to a Target. Let me tell you after spending several hours with my mom in 'clothing museums', it's a miracle that I'm willing to go shopping with you." Betty just smiled at him.

"So you're going to take me shopping at Target to prove that I can look good on a budget?" She asked raising an eyebrow.

"I'm taking you shopping to prove that I want to spend time with you. I'm not Walter. You make me want to try something more than a one night stand. Getting you into a coat that doesn't remind me of a giant blue marshmallow is just a bonus." She rolls her eyes before he adds, "although, you are an adorable marshmallow."

"Despite that, I'm still not going to sleep with you right now. You're still hung up on some girl who screwed you over more than a decade ago. You never really got closure with her." She told him. He wondered if this was just another excuse.

"I personally think closure is overrated. You try to talk with Wilbur about what he did to you and he completely ignored you your concerns. He tried to kiss you again."

"Actually, he is probably standing outside of my house again. He hasn't figured it out yet." Okay, that scared the hell out of him. He really didn't trust that guy.

"I'm worried about him." Daniel told her.

"He's a jerk but he's harmless. With everything going on I'm not ready to just jump into things. I just think we should take things slow."

"As long as we get to do what we did earlier I can deal with your definition of slow." He said with a smirk as he tried to kiss her. That got him another pillow in the stomach.

"You know, I'm starting to reconsider my assessment of your character." Betty said with a glare.

"You know you like me. I will make you a deal when I go to France in a couple of weeks to settle Alex's affairs I will try to find Lucy and get this closure that you believe is so important." He suggested, not that he actually was going to do that. Although now that he suggested it, Betty will probably make him go through with it. However, he may be willing to face her if it meant that Betty will come with him.

"That will be good for you. You can't move forward and you deal with the past." Okay now he knows he will have to do it because Betty is just like that.

"I will deal with my past, if you deal with your present and get a restraining order against Wilbur." If she is going to force him to do something, he was going to get something in return.

"Why do you keep calling my ex-boyfriend Wilbur?" She asked doing the cute scrunchy thing.

"He's too much of a bastard for me to bother to remember his actual name." Actually, it was because he liked calling the idiot Wilbur.

"I still think he's harmless." She protested.

"He's stalking you. You told me he tried to follow you into the restroom at school yesterday even after your father had threatened him with bodily harm. I'm worried and I'm going to be in France for a few weeks to deal with everything. I'm not going to be able to scare him off. I just want you to be safe. Though, you can always come with me?" He decided to use this as an excuse to convince her to come with him.

"I can't go with you. We've only known each other for a week." She protested halfheartedly.

"Jamie's parents got married after three weeks. They have a much more stable marriage than my parents do. By the time I leave for Paris, we would have known each other for at least five weeks." Daniel pointed out to her.

"He mentioned the same thing. As much as I would love to go to France with you, if I could afford it, I have this thing called classes. Due to everything that happened with my mom, my grades dropped during the last two semesters and if I don't get straight A's this semester I may lose my scholarship." He could tell by her expression that was a legitimate concern. He decided it's probably best not to point out that he would be paying for everything.

"However, to alleviate your worries I will get a restraining orderon one condition." Why did Daniel have a feeling he was not going to like this condition?

"I guess Paris is not an option right now but it could be a reward if you get straight A's this semester. An all-expenses-paid trip would be the perfect motivation. What is your condition?" He asked before she could object.

"That we don't go any farther than what were already doing. You still want to take me to Europe?" She asked him, slightly surprised.

"I want to take you everywhere." He said kissing her again.

He successfully managed to convince her to have 'Not sex' twice before he had no choice but to drive her home very late that evening. Also, at some point they may have ordered Thai food. Due to all the 'not sex' they didn't finish boxing up Alex's apartment. Despite the fact that Jordan and Jamie never came back, they managed to get half of the loft packed up. Regardless of the fact they kept getting 'distracted'.

As agreed-upon, she arrived at his loft at 11 onSunday. She may have also given him a strange look when she saw the artwork in his bedroom. He's going to have to get rid of it, if he ever wants to get Betty naked in that bedroom.

Because neither he nor Jordan and Jamie could deal with Alex's house again they opted to get professionals to clean it out. Therefore, Daniel made good on his promise to go to a Target with Betty to prove to her that she could dress well on a budget. (Okay, maybe he just wanted an excuse to buy her something other than snowman panties.)

Because it was Sunday, they had to stay in New York due to the blue laws in various counties in New Jersey. They ended up at the Target at the Palisades Center because that mall also had several arcades, a bowling alley, an ice-skating rink, a Ferris wheel, and an IMAX theater. There was also a merry-go-round that Betty just had to force him to go on. It was good to just hang out with her without being followed by paparazzi. He wasn't very recognizable in a baseball cap and non-designer blue jeans. He was sure none of them would ever think to find him in a Target picking out clothes for his new girlfriend. This day would be perfect if they would let him go in the dressing room with her.

"I can't let you buy all this stuff for me. There has to be at least $1000 worth of clothes in the cart." She said looking at the grocery cart filled with clothes and other things that he picked out for her. If she thought this was all lot of stuff, he's glad he didn't take her into some of the more upscale stores in the mall.

"The pants that you destroyed yesterday, due to your inpatients, probably cost more than everything in that card combined. Also, I did destroy most of what you were wearing yesterday, including the snowman panties. I'm just paying you back a little bit early for all the other things I plan to destroy." He said holding up the cute black and white lace panties that he convinced her to get.

"You wore pants that cost more than $1000 to clean your brother's apartment?" She asked grabbing the underwear out of his hands and burying it under the new not puffy coat and other things he was getting her.

"They were old." He said as an excuse.

"No wonder you think buying me $1000 worth of clothes is not a big deal." She said incredulously.

"You have probably saved me that much in therapy sessions." He joked.

"Fine, but I'm buying lunch and I'm paying for ice-skating." She said in acquiescence.

"I'm rich I can easily afford to get you some nicer things, especially at these prices. I can't believe that coat was only $70. I had no idea Isaac Mizrahi was doing a diffusion collection. These are all really nice pieces." He said enthusiastically. He was actually having fun dressing her up. He liked fashion but don't tell anybody that.

"But I don't want you to think that I'm only with you because of that."

"I never would, although, I know you're not going to give up, so let's just go to the food court. I think I saw a Nathan's in there. I don't think I've had a hot dog in months. Let me pay for this and then you can get me a hot dog." He said with a smile.

"Deal." She said kissing him on the cheek.

To be continued.


	5. Emails from Betty and Daniel

Thank you to everybody who read or reviewed the last chapter. There's going to be a time jump in this chapter. I would love to have more fluffy Daniel Betty dating time but the story is going to cover about 2 ½ years and well you saw how long it took me to cover a month and a half in Adaptation Mode Style. I don't think you want to see what will happen if I write a 1 million words plus story. Of course, my favorite way to cover a lot of ground is an email chapter.

Excerpts from the email accounts of Daniel Meade and Betty Suarez.

* * *

From: EIC-Hudson- HunterJA

To: MeadeDA

Subject: Why are you not answering your phone?

Time send: 1/16/2005 13:21:01

I was going to ask you about what happened with you and Betty last night but you're not picking up. We didn't get to talk earlier when you called about your brilliant plan to just get a cleaning service to finish everything up. I don't think we are emotionally ready to go through Alex's things. I still don't know what to do with his office. Marisol said she would find someone to help.

Despite your snide comments, I did not sleep with Jordan again last night. However, she did sleep on my couch because I couldn't let her go back to Queens that drunk. I may have slept with her boyfriend behind her back for nearly 2 years but I do have some morals. Also because I slept with her boyfriend behind her back for two years I sort of owe her something. That's the reason why she picked up my phone this morning. Really, it is.

I'm sure you've got further with Betty, which is the other reason why I don't want to finish cleaning up Alex's apartment. I just know you two had sex on the couch. Just please tell me that you didn't do anything stupid. She is not one of your usual fuck toys. You can't just leave her and not call the next day. She deserves better than that. You deserve better than that.

I actually like this girl. She's smart, compassionate, and she makes you want to try. Most importantly she makes you happy. Hell, she makes me happy and she helped keep Jordan's self-loathing down to a minimum. For some reason Jordan is blaming herself for Alex's response to your father being a prick. I can't believe she's taking it worse than what your brother did we could all use a little happiness.

Don't fuck it up.

* * *

From: CameronHE

To: MeadeDA

Subject: Mr. Meade would like to have lunch on Tuesday

Time send: 1/16/2005 14:17:41

Mr. Meade has requested that you have lunch with him at 12 PM at Xavier on January 18. I would schedule the lunch with your assistant directly but I have been informed by your father that Marisol will be working for Ms. Somers effective immediately due to the sudden termination of Ms. Somers' assistant. He said that he expects you there regardless of prior work commitments or your grief support group.

Helen Cameron

Executive Assistant

Office of Bradford Meade

Meade Publications

* * *

From: Extreme_Jordan

To: MeadeDA

Subject: I did not sleep with Jamie again.

Time send: 1/16/2005 16:31:51

Honestly, I did not have sex with your brother's boyfriend again. I just crashed on his couch. I'm sorry I hung up on you. I didn't mean to but I had to throw up. Don't say anything. I heard enough from Jamie this morning. I'm well aware that I need to stop drinking my way through this; otherwise, I will end up in the bed next to your mom. Seriously, why did Alex do this to us? Why couldn't he just tell me that he wanted to

I'm thinking of joining a real grief support group but that would make this real (Also, thanks to that stupid agreement that your father made me sign I can't exactly tell people that my boyfriend killed himself because he wanted to be her true self.) Part of me just wants to pretend this is not happening. Maybe, it's a good thing you suggested getting a cleaning service because I just can't go back into the apartment again. I'm just going to buy all new stuff for the new apartment that I am going to have to get eventually.

I got sick before I could ask how things went with you and Betty! Please tell me you didn't do anything stupid? Although, Jamie is 100% sure you slept with her already. I just hope you were there the next morning and still remembered her name. Alex told me all sorts of stories about you. He was always worried about you sleeping with the wrong person and getting some sort of STD.

I like Betty. She is sweet and a real human being. She's good for you. You're actually here and caring about something other than getting laid or finding the best party. I know you're better than that. Now, it's time for you to actually act like it.

Actually, I think she's good for me. She actually listens to me and doesn't tell me that everything will be wonderful. Nothing is going to be wonderful for a long time but that's what all my other friends are saying. They have no idea what it's like to lose someone like this. I'm just going through the motions right now. But Betty understands that and doesn't expect me to smile when I just want to cry. I hope you don't have anything planned for next Saturday because I may borrow her for shopping or lunch or possibly apartment hunting. I will probably email her after this.

Please don't scare her away because I need more real friends.

* * *

From: Extreme_Jordan

To: QCSuarez_BR

Subject: Do you have to work Saturday?

Time send: 1/16/2005 16:42:13

You probably don't know more about your scheduled yet but I just wanted to ask if you're available to hang out Saturday before Daniel schedules something. Although, if you woke up alone this morning I promise to punch him in the nose for you. Actually, I promise to kick him in the balls for you. I'm a professional athlete, I can make it painful.

What do you think about shopping and a trip to the hair salon? My treat, I heard that changing your hair is the best way to get over an idiot that cheats on you with some random skank. You deserve something for putting up with my crying and drinking yesterday. Actually, you deserve something for not going to the tabloids with what happened yesterday. You are a good person and most stores give me free things anyway. As somebody who grew up shopping at secondhand stores, I always thought it was ridiculous that stores give free things to people that can afford to shop there but not to people who actually need the stuff. I usually give my freebies to charity.

Now that I'm going to be furnishing a new apartment, I should probably take advantage of the situation. I have to get out of my friend's house. I can't take being around extremely fake people any longer. If you have any leads on a new apartment, let me know.

I think I just need a change or maybe a distraction. Do you think hairstyle therapy will work in the case of finding out that your boyfriend was in love with another guy and killed himself because his father is a prick? I might be willing to try anything.

* * *

From: MeadeDA

To: QCSuarez_BR

Subject: Pictures from today and please say yes to Jordan shopping trip.

Time send: 1/16/2005 20:31:01

Hey, I know I just dropped you off at your house 20 minutes ago but I want to make sure everything is okay. I know we didn't see Wilbur standing in front of your porch like a lost puppy but he was probably hiding in the bushes. I don't trust that guy. I'm a little anxious that you have not picked up my last six calls to your cell phone. I worry about you.

I've attached a few of the pictures from today. You look so cute on the merry-go-round. That will be the new wallpaper on my computer at work but only because I can't put the picture you sent Monday.

After checking my voicemail, I discovered tomorrow is a holiday for you. I could use some more quality Betty time. Do you want to do something tomorrow? I just found out my father is inviting me to lunch, or rather he's forcing me to go to lunch with him to stay and I need more time with you if I'm going to avoid screaming at him in public.

In other bad news, Marisol has been reassigned earlier than we all expected. My father really is a sadist and he assigned her to be the wicked witch of Mode's new assistant. After he fired her old one for letting the rumor mill know that Alex's death was not an accident. However, Marisol was kind enough to tell me that her new boss was making her clean out everything that my father ever gave her. Marisol believes that he called off whatever was going on between the two but I'm just not that optimistic. I think my optimism died the day my brother did.

Also attached is an email I got from Jordan a couple of hours ago when I was trying to get you into something non-fluffy. Whatever she asks you to do, just say yes. I'll even cover the shopping trip. I'm worried about her. Jamie's worried about her. It's like she's drowning.

We can always meet up another time but I think she needs the Betty effect more.

I would love to actually see you during the school week, even if you said no to the club opening Thursday night. I'm sure we can come up with some midweek activity that will not interfere with your horrible job, that you are way to qualified for, or your school work. You know if you lose your scholarship, I can always pay for next year. It would be a better use of my money than drinking it away in Rio.

* * *

From: QCSuarez_BR

To: MeadeDA

Subject: Re: Pictures from today and please say yes to Jordan shopping trip.

Time send: 1/16/2005 21:14:31

That's sweet but you don't have to. I don't like you because you're rich; I like you because you're you.

Jordan wants to go shopping and get our hair done. I'm saying yes just because her email scared me a little and that was before I read what she sent you. Also if you really are her friend maybe you should spend some more time with her. You could take her to that club thing Thursday. I won't even be jealous if I see you and her on page six together.

Thanks to spending the last few days with you I need to actually study. I also have another 30 pages to read from marketing class and I have to write two poems for my junior English class. I just found out that I'm going to be spending way too much time at the Cat Hospital next week. The other girl is on vacation and let's just say Saturday afternoon is the only time I'm not working in the next week. I may be willing now to apply for other jobs if you have any suggestions, other than you asking your father to hire me for something at Meade publications.

The reason why you didn't see Walter on my front porch was because he was inside my house with my dad. He was practically begging him to convince me to take him back as he fixed our television. I told him I was getting a restraining order and gave him back his cell phone. Apparently, he was using the GPS on the phone to track me and he knew we were at the Palisades Center. So that's why I missed all your phone calls.

The good news is my dad literally threw him out of the house. He also threatened to call the police if he comes back.

Thankfully, because of what happened, he did not asked about the three shopping bags I brought with me. Justin knows that you took me on a shopping spree but I just told my sister the new stuff is from your brother's closet. After I told her why your brother had a closet filled with women's clothes, she stopped asking questions.

Also because of what happened I kind of let it slip that I'm sort to seeing someone from my 'grief support group'. Okay I may have yelled that at my sister when she tried to convince me again that Walter was the best I could do. Walter thinks I broke up with him for you and I may have encouraged that belief a little. I may have also been yelled at by my sister a lot for that. She doesn't even know you and she already thinks you are just using me for sex.

However, my dad is willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. You have been invited to Sunday dinner next week. He also wants to know if you have any food allergies?

* * *

From: MeadeDA

To: QCSuarez_BR

Subject: Re: Pictures from today and please say yes to Jordan shopping trip.

Time send: 1/16/2005 22:02:43

No allergies that I'm aware of. That was Alex.

Your sister has issues. Does she not see what I see? You're really beautiful, especially without the blue puffy coat. (Not that I actually care what you're wearing, because I prefer if you wear nothing at all. However, that does not mean that I'm only interested in you for sex.)

I would suggest that you burn anything else Walter gave you. Thanks for telling me about the phone. Unfortunately, I had the bad luck of talking with your ex-boyfriend the seventh time I called. He's a delusional prick and you need to get that restraining order as soon as possible.

I'll be happy to show up at your house Sunday. I don't think I've ever done a meet the father dinner before. Although, maybe it would be best if you don't tell anybody my real last name. I would like for your father to get to know me before he knows my reputation and brings out that shotgun that you joked about. I feel there's some truth to that joke. I would say the same thing regarding your sister but I think she's going to hate me no matter what. Again I'm with you because I like you. Sex is easy to find, nice people are not. Finding a nice person that you want to have sex with is really hard.

You're right I should spend more time with Jordan. I will ask her in the morning to go with me to the club thing Thursday. I should probably spend more time with Jamie to although not at the same time. They both claim that they did not sleep together last night but I'm sure that they did.

No, I will not ask my dad to get you a job even though you seriously need to get out of that cat Hospital. That would require me to be on speaking terms with my father again. If he really did break things off with the wicked witch I may be willing to talk to him for your sake but I just don't trust the man anymore. He did say that he wanted to meet you but I like you too much to subject you to his presence.

I will ask Jamie if he has any ideas. The man has a lot of connections outside of Meade publications.

* * *

From: QCSuarez_BR

To: Extreme_Jordan

Subject: Re: Do you have to work Saturday?

Time send: 1/17/2005 6:21:01

I meant to get back to you last night but I sort of fell asleep on top of my computer. I spent the entire day with Daniel and no you don't have to kick him in his special place for me. (That's why I was up late doing homework.) He's treated me a lot better than my ex-boyfriend did. We didn't go that far. Okay, I let him go farther than Walter got except for right after my mom died. Actually, he did a lot better than Walter without doing that thing.

You don't have to take me shopping, I would be happy to help you pick out new things for your new apartment. Although my nephew does keep telling me I should try something different with my hair. Actually, if we do go shopping he would want to come with us. He already likes Daniel because he added some 'decent pieces' to my wardrobe. I'm open to doing anything Saturday that doesn't involve me cleaning up after cats.

* * *

From: MeadeDA

To: EIC-Hudson- HunterJA

Subject: Re: Why are you not answering your phone?

Time send: 1/17/2005 7:11:13

If your new email address is anything to go by it seems that you took my dad's indecent proposal. Good for you. You deserve this job for everything he's put you through.

Sorry, I missed your call. I was at the Palisades Center with Betty and I didn't get back till late. She made me go to a Target. I actually liked it but mostly because I got her in a coat that's not blue and fluffy. Also she's kind of adorable when you get her on a merry-go-round.

No, I did not have sex with her on Alex's couch. I like her too and we decided to not go that far until I get back from France. The bastard ex-boyfriend really did a number on her. Also, I don't think that it helps that her sister got ditched when the condom broke on prom night.

Unfortunately, I can't convince her to go with me to deal with Alex's European affairs. Because of everything that happened with her mom, she needs to concentrate on her studies this semester so she doesn't lose her scholarship. (She refused to let me pay for next year.) Because, I actually like her I'm not pushing for more. See, I'm trying not to fuck this thing up.

According to her voicemail, Marisol found a company that will take care of the apartment. They will have it ready for the real estate agent to start showing by a week from Monday. She said that was her official last act as our assistant. After the wicked bitch of Mode's assistant told everybody that Alex's death was not an accident, Marisol said something she shouldn't have to my father and he decided to punish her by making her the Dragon lady's replacement assistant. Somebody named Marc St. James will be taking her place effective immediately because he told dad about what Ms. Somers assistant did. According to Marisol, Wilhelmina pissed off Faye and my dad. They decided to take away her assistant and Faye decided to replace him with her personal accountant's daughter or something like that. The good news is he has been under Wilhelmina's influence for less than six months, has interned at multiple fashion magazines, and has worked on fashion week before. What the hell are we doing for fashion week without Alex this year?

Betty is open to my suggestion to applying to any position doesn't involve cleaning up after cats. Do you know of any possibilities outside of Meade? Unlike most of my friends, she doesn't like nepotism. She was actually a little upset when I bought her a few things at Target. She keeps reminding me that she likes me in spite of the fact that I'm rich.

* * *

From: MeadeDA

To: Extreme_Jordan

Subject: Re: I did not sleep with Jamie again.

Time send: 1/17/2005 7:21:49

I believe that as much as you probably believe that I didn't have sex with Betty Saturday. In my case, it's actually true (under certain standards anyway). I promise not to ask Betty out Saturday, so you can borrow my girlfriend.

I know I'm not as calming of a presence as my Betty but I think I can be a good friend. I already don't want to sleep with you; I think that's a step in the right direction. I have to go to some big club opening Thursday and Betty said no because she has classes the next morning. Do you want to come? I think getting out will be good for you.

I know how you feel. Part of me would like to pretend Alex is still on some grand vacation and will be coming back any day now. I'm starting to accept that's not the case but it is hard. I think it's easier when I'm with you, Jamie, and Betty to accept reality without resorting to my friend Jack.

* * *

From: EIC-Hudson- HunterJA

To: MeadeDA

Subject: I'm Impressed.

Time send: 1/17/2005 7:34:01

I'm not sure what I find more shocking the fact that you returned my email in less than 24 hours, you actually asked about fashion week, that you stepped foot inside a Target store, or the fact you did not have sex with Betty. I'm just glad that you're not screwing this up. I think you can actually do this relationship thing. That French girl has screwed you over for far too long and you need to move past it.

I knew about Marc. According to your dad's assistant's assistant, Marquis, your dad decided to give us Marc because he wanted to hire somebody that you wouldn't sleep with, in addition to awarding him for helping to keep the Alex thing a secret. Hopefully, because it's been less than six months Marc hasn't developed Stockholm syndrome yet. I have high hopes. Thankfully, he is actually qualified for this position and he showed up at my apartment this morning with coffee and bagels. He said he's happy he's allowed to have carbs again on a daily basis. The scary thing is, I don't think he's joking.

Even though today is technically a holiday we are having a pre-fashion week meeting. (Mostly because I refused to go to your father's 'we celebrate diversity' brunch. If he really appreciated diversity Alex wouldn't be dead.)

We had to scrap half of what was originally planned so it would be good if you were , we are not solely a fashion magazine so it won't be as bad but Faye Somers annoyed the hell out of me for that little stunt she pulled with your mom. I want Hudson to be the talk of Fashion Week 2005.

Can you get me a copy of Betty's resume? I already know she's a very hard worker considering what she did at Alex's place. She did most of the work Saturday. I'm not sure if I want to give her over to the competition. Regardless, I can probably hire her as a temp for Fashion Week.

* * *

From: MeadeDA

To: EIC-Hudson- HunterJA

Subject: Re: I'm impressed

Time send: 1/17/2005 7:51:24

You are about the only one. I'll be there in time for the meeting. You know if I wasn't with Betty, I think I would sleep with Marc just to piss off my father. He really doesn't know me at all. This means we will need to have the best fashion week ever. We should show up Mode by doing our own 10 designers to watch. We can probably use Marc to our advantage. I'm sure he was planning most of what Mode is doing for fashion week.

Attached is an old copy of Betty's resume that I got from the HR database. She applied to one of the internship programs here last summer and was turned down. I don't know why considering that she was twice as qualified as the person that we got up here with that food product name I can't remember. He was an idiot.

However, I'm not sure if you can convince her to work here. She likes to get stuff on her own merit as I stated earlier. I told you I could barely convince her to let me buy her a few things at Target yesterday. I think that's why I actually like her. Most people expect things from me but Betty does not.

* * *

From: EIC-Hudson- HunterJA

To: MeadeDA

Subject: Now, I'm really impressed

Time send: 1/17/2005 12:31:01

I'm sure a few things in your mind were probably at least $1000 worth of stuff. Alex was the same way. You need to get out in the real world more. Just for that, I think I'm going to make you do a fashion on a budget article for the modern metrosexual businessman.

Why exactly did Alex have you only taking new advertisers to strip clubs? Your ideas were brilliant this morning. Though, we may have trouble with one of the designers that you mentioned. Your brother was good at pissing people off.

I read what you sent me. I'm impressed with Betty and it has nothing to do with you knowing her. This resume was not in the pile I was sent last year. I would've remembered. I'm going to ask HR what happened. If there were people like Betty available, I don't know how we got stuck with that idiot Nick Pepper. He wasn't even in my top three choices. I think Alex was mad at me that week and probably just hired the cutest guy available to piss me off.

* * *

From: Extreme_Jordan

To: MeadeDA

Subject: Re: I did not sleep with Jamie again.

Time send: 1/17/2005 9:41:45

Since my publicist said I need to make a public appearance it may not be such a horrible thing to go with you to the club opening. Will Betty be there? She didn't mention anything about it in her email.

Although, she doesn't like to take anything from anyone. I think that's refreshing considering I think some of my friends are only friends with me because of the parties I can get them into.

* * *

From: QCSuarez_BR

To: MeadeDA

Subject: So about Sunday?

Time send: 1/17/2005 13:12:01

Glad to know you want to come over here Sunday. What is your mother's maiden name? It will be easier for you if I use a name that is easy for you to remember.

My nephew already knows who you are but he promised not to say anything if I take him with me the next time we do a 'shopping date'. I think he already likes you because you have good taste. He's really into shopping and things like that. Last year he wanted to spend his birthday at Bloomingdale's.

My dad agreed with you on the restraining order. Your lawyer friend contacted me this morning before Hospital duty and told me I need to go to Family Court because I haven't filed charges against Walter yet. We are going to take care of everything tomorrow before classes. Considering Walter showed up where I worked today with half dead daisies, I really think I need that order. The lawyer agrees.

Thankfully my boss scared him away. I'm on front desk duty which is why am able to email you right now. I'll call you tonight after work. I sort of miss my cell phone.

* * *

From: MeadeDA

To: QCSuarez_BR

Subject: Re:So about Sunday?

Time send: 1/17/2005 20:25:31

I miss your cell phone too. If you get something in a purple box tomorrow, it's from me and not your crazy stalker ex-boyfriend. I can't believe your nephew took the phone from you. Also I can't believe he asked me about the naked picture or the text messages I sent you. Your present tomorrow will have special instructions about how to get rid of that stuff. Then again maybe I should reframe from sending those messages to you. What are your opinions on cybersex?

I'm glad that your dad didn't walk into the room for a few more minutes. He seems nice. He's also one of the few people that have offered sincere condolences about my brother. I'm looking forward to trying his cooking.

Your sister scares me. I can't believe she asked me if we had sex yet. I'm kind of happy I could actually say no, technically.

I didn't get to ask you how your day was before your family took over. That never happened at my house because it was just me and Alex. My dad was always busy most likely screwing Faye Somers and my mom spent a lot of time in rehab most likely to deal with the fact my dad was screwing Faye Somers.

The mood at Hudson is a little bleak. Thanks to Faye Somers now former assistant everybody knows that Alex killed himself. Thankfully nobody knows why.

We're trying to focus on doing the best Hudson's show ever. We are currently trying to find five designers that embodied the Hudson philosophy. This may be really hard without Alex. If your nephew has any suggestions let me know.

Are you sure you don't want to come with me to Europe? Maybe it will be good for you to get away for a while. I'm really worried about that guy.

* * *

From: QCSuarez_BR

To: MeadeDA

Subject: Re: I took care of the Walter problem.

Time send: 1/18/2005 1:21:01

Sorry, I didn't get to email you this morning. I had to leave really early to take care of the restraining order before class. Things went okay at Family Court this morning. Your lawyer friend was brilliant. Walter should not be a problem anymore. I wish I could go with you but I already told you I can't.

You must be desperate for ideas if you want help from my nephew.

How did lunch go with your dad?

* * *

From: MeadeDA

To: EIC-Hudson- HunterJA

Subject: Re: Now, I'm really impressed

Time send: 1/18/2005 13:54:01

I really really hate my father. Sometimes, I don't know how we are related. It's true that he hired Marc just so I would act like a grown-up. It's like he doesn't see me at all.

Hey where were you today? Marc wouldn't tell me anything.

I'm not sure how we ended up with that idiot either. If you want Betty to help out for fashion week I suggest you ask her yourself. Don't try her cell phone because she had to change her number due to the stalker ex-boyfriend and my present hasn't arrived yet. She had to physically get rid of the phone. The bastard was using GPS to find her and rather had one of the Nerd squad members at his work do it for him. Thankfully she now has a restraining order against the idiot. She did tell me about the guy showing up at her work. I think I would feel better if she was working somewhere else.

* * *

From: MeadeDA

To: QCSuarez_BR

Subject: Re: I took care of the Walter problem.

Time send: 1/18/2005 13:45:01

Badly, I did tell you that he hired a guy as Marisol's replacement so I wouldn't be tempted to sleep with him. Thankfully, the guy is talented. If I wasn't dating you, I probably would do it just to prove my dad wrong. The only good thing that came out to lunch this afternoon was I found out that my dad is done with Faye Somers for good. Apparently, the thing she did with mom was too much for him.

Did you get my present yet? I miss hearing your voice.

Your nephew has good taste, so of course I want his help.

PS: You have not answered my question about email sex.

* * *

From: MeadeDA

To: QCSuarez_BR

Subject: Re: I took care of the Walter problem.

Time send: 1/18/2005 17:21:01

My sister sort of thought it was from Walter and threw it away. I heard it was a really nice phone. Sorry.

I'm sorry about your dad too. I don't think he knows you at all. You are a good person Daniel Meade.

Justin is glad you think he has good taste.

Because Justin may 'accidentally' read these emails at some point I'm going to have to say no. It probably will be best to keep everything PG-13 until I get to see you again. Maybe I can wrap up things early with Jordan Saturday and see you before I go back home.

* * *

From: MeadeDA

To: QCSuarez_BR

Subject: Re: I took care of the Walter problem.

Time send: 1/18/2005 15:21:01

Saturday is good. There are a few things I want to show you that I can't mention in this email due to the fact that your 10-year-old nephew will probably read it. What about lunch Thursday or Friday. Jamie is making me do an article about budget shopping. I may need your help. I should probably give you your new cell phone in person anyway to make sure your sister doesn't throw it away again.

* * *

From: MeadeDA

To: Extreme_Jordan

Time send: 1/18/2005 18:21:01

Subject: Re: I did not sleep with Jamie again.

I don't think I would consider people like that friends although I think a lot of my so-called friends are like that. Fortunately Betty's not like that. I think that's why I like her. She's not with me because I'm Daniel Meade. She's with me despite the fact I'm Daniel Meade.

Due to school work, Betty can't join us. Also with her stalker ex-boyfriend wandering around I don't think it's good for her to be out someplace so public.

* * *

From: Extreme_Jordan

To: QCSuarez_BR

Subject: Are you okay with me going clubbing with your boyfriend?

Time send: 1/18/2005 21:32:01

Since I don't have a new apartment yet, I don't think I should go furniture shopping. You can help me pick out something.

Are you really okay with me going out with Daniel Thursday night? It would be nice to have a friend that is actually my friend and I don't want to mess that up.

We are still going to have to talk about what you did with Daniel Saturday night. I heard he's really good with his hands.

Daniel mentions some problems with your ex-boyfriend, is everything okay?

* * *

From: QCSuarez_BR

To: Extreme_Jordan

Subject: Re: Are you okay with me going clubbing with your boyfriend?

Time send: 1/19/2005 6:21:01

Yes. It was my idea that he invite you because I'm stuck dealing with Classwork. Also, it would be nice for me to actually have a friend. I was a bit of a loner in high school. Okay, I was a bit of a loner for most of my life. I don't have that many friends or any of all. It's hard to make friends when most your classmates call you ugly Betty.

I will be happy to help you look for an apartment. I kind of always dreamt about getting an apartment in Manhattan someday.

I really don't want to talk about what's going on with my ex-boyfriend. Let's just say it's not good and I will probably have to get a new phone number.

Also my nephew has a tendency to read my emails so I will not confirm nor deny the thing with the hands.

* * *

From: Extreme_Jordan

To: QCSuarez_BR

Subject: Re: Are you okay with me going clubbing with your boyfriend?

Time send: 1/19/2005 7:13:01

Sorry, about the problems you're having with your ex-boyfriend. I hope things get better. I understand not wanting to talk about something and I won't push.

I think you already have a friend in me. It's good to have a second opinion when going apartment shopping in Manhattan. I had a friend who got completely swindled by some guy. Remember to always look at the apartment first before you rent it.

Kids can be so cruel. I was called a lot of nasty names too. I was raised by a single mom in med school and therefore we didn't exactly have money for the latest school things. I was teased a lot for my big glasses and thrift store wardrobe. They weren't laughing at the high school reunion last year. Being successful is the best revenge.

* * *

From: QCSuarez_BR

To: MeadeDA

Subject: Re: I took care of the Walter problem.

Time send: 1/19/2005 13:21:01

Unfortunately, the restraining order is not working. He keeps calling the house and my sister's cell phone. Fortunately because of the GPS thing and the need for the restraining order she's no longer trying to convince me to get back together with him. We are going to get an unlisted phone number. I also think that's the real reason why your gift went in the trash yesterday. She really did think it was from Walter. I don't know about lunch. I'm supposed to be working. I'll send you a message if I can get out of work.

* * *

From: MeadeDA

To: QCSuarez_BR

Subject: Re: I took care of the Walter problem.

Time send: 1/19/2005 14:51:01

I think I figured out the new phone number thing when I got the disconnected message.

Maybe you should stay somewhere else for a few days. Preferably with a friend Walter doesn't know about. I would be willing to let you stay at my house but my bedroom is currently being repainted. I decided that maybe a 30-year-old should not have a mural of the naked woman on his wall. I would be more than willing to share my hotel room with you.

* * *

From: QCSuarez_BR

To: MeadeDA

Subject: Re: I took care of the Walter problem.

Time send: 1/19/2005 19:21:01

I think my Papi would hurt you for just suggesting it even though he does like you for helping us get a lawyer to deal with the Walter thing.

I really don't have that many friends. Actually, I just have one and she's kind of new. I wasn't that popular in school because of how I look. I ate lunch alone a lot. I'm a girl from Queens, I will be fine. I have a whistle and everything.

Also thanks to Walter showing up at work today I'm going to have lots of free time. I got fired today. I also got hit with a purse repeatedly by an angry woman who was mad at me because her cat died. He was 15 years old.

* * *

From: QCSuarez_BR

To: MeadeDA

Subject: Re: I took care of the Walter problem.

Time send: 1/19/2005 19:30:01

I'm sorry about the job. I know you hated it but I also know that working is important to you. However I think I found something that you would like to do better. Can you come by Thursday afternoon?

* * *

From: QCSuarez_BR

To: MeadeDA

Subject: Re: I took care of the Walter problem.

Time send: 1/19/2005 19:21:01

I have classes until seven. That's why I said I couldn't go with you to the club. But I can come by Friday. I only have one class and it is at 9 AM.

* * *

From: MeadeDA

To: QCSuarez_BR

Subject: Re: I took care of the Walter problem.

Time send: 1/19/2005 19:39:12

Lunch Friday it is.

* * *

From: QCSuarez_BR

To: Extreme_Jordan

Subject: Re: Are you okay with me going clubbing with your boyfriend?

Time send: 1/20/2005 6:21:01

Sorry, I didn't get back to you yesterday. It was a bad day involving crazy ex-boyfriends and getting fired.

My mom used to say the same thing. I can't believe you were teased in school. You're so pretty now.

Sometimes, I can't believe that Daniel actually likes me. I don't think I told you about my sister trying to push me to get back with my ex-boyfriend until I had to get a restraining order. She kept saying things like I need to be realistic. I think she said the same thing when I decided to go to college instead of vocational school. She never encourages me to do more.

From: EIC-Hudson-HunterJA

To: MeadeDA

Subject: Marc really is worth his weight in designer ties

Time send: 1/20/2005 9:10:01

Although, we will dearly miss Marisol, Marc is brilliant and not just because he found us a few good designers for the Hudson show. Somehow he found out why Betty's resume wasn't in the pile for the 2004 STARS program and there's a good chance that the EEOC will be on our asses if this ever gets out. It seems that a certain HR person decided not to forward resumes of certain candidates to certain magazines because they did not match the 'aesthetic'. However, in Betty's case her resume wasn't forwarded to anyone even though the Washington Post wanted her.

I'm handling it with the EEO office and there's a pretty good chance somebody's going to get fired. I don't know if you want to tell Betty what happened. I prefer that she doesn't know because I would like her to apply again after she graduates.I would like her to apply now. I think we can use someone like her. I would like to avoid scaring her off of working for Meade publications in general because of one idiot. I tried to call the home number you gave me earlier but I just got the disconnected message. I'm assuming it has something to do with her former boyfriend who you describe as slightly insane.

* * *

From: MeadeDA

To: EIC-Hudson- HunterJA

Subject: Re: Marc really is worth his weight in designer ties

Time send: 1/20/2005 9:16:01

I think somebody may have a little crush.

Don't tell Betty what happened. Her self-esteem is bad enough already. She's already getting enough from her sister. This whole mess with her ex-boyfriend is really starting to get to her. Yes, he is the reason why you can't call her. He's also the reason why she will most likely accept your offer because he managed to get her fired yesterday. If you consider the fact that her mom died less than three months ago, it all may be a little too much.

Try her school email address QCSuarez_BR. Miraculously she never gave it to Wilbur so he's not stalking her that way.

* * *

From: EIC-Hudson- HunterJA

To: QCSuarez_B

Subject: Job opportunity at Hudson Magazine

Time send: 1/20/2005 9:26: 01

A couple of days ago Daniel mentioned that you were looking for a new part-time job that doesn't involve cleaning up after cats and Daniel manipulating his father to hire you. I have a couple of friends from college that are starting a new web magazine about fashion for women who are not a size 2 in the next couple of months that may be interested in you.

In the meantime, we could really use some help for fashion week. Daniel probably mentioned how chaotic it is. With Alex gone, we need all hands on deck. I saw how hard you worked last Saturday and we need someone like you. It's not exactly a writing job but it's probably better than cleaning up after cats. You probably can help Daniel work on his business guy on a budget piece. I am forever in your debt for getting him in a target. Can you try for a Wal-Mart next?

We can work around your schedule. The position pays $22 an hour and if you're willing to stay on for a few months I may be able to work out dental coverage. I remember that you mentioned saving up for braces.

* * *

From: QCSuarez_BR

To: MeadeDA

Subject: Did you just asked your friend to give me a job?

Time send: 1/20/2005 11:06:31

Thank you for talking to Jamie but I don't want to get a job because we are dating and you want to have sex with me. (Considering the way I dress, I probably should not work with any magazine in the fashion industry.)

It's okay. I talked to my sister's boss and because I did so well covering for her at your parents' party she is willing to hire me. It pays less and therefore, I probably will not be able to get braces until right after graduation and that's only if I get the bargain plan. But it's okay, I will be fine.

* * *

From: MeadeDA

To: QCSuarez_BR

Subject: Re: Did you just asked your friend to give me a job?

Time send: 1/20/2005 11:18:18

I can teach anyone how to dress, I can't teach brilliance and you Betty Suarez are brilliant. Also it's an alternative fashion magazine. You're good at dressing to your own drummer.

I told you I was going to ask Jamie if he knew anybody who was hiring. Apparently, you impressed him so much Saturday that he wants to hire you and recommend you to his friend Ashley. He was furious when he found out that they did not forward your resume to him last summer. There was some computer mixup and we never got your resume. The guy we actually got was horrible and Jamie said he would have hired you if he saw your resume last spring.

Betty you should take the job. Knowing me has nothing to do with you getting the offer. You're so good Jamie is willing to hire you even though he knows that I'm going to try to talk you into copy room make out sessions. Please say yes. I want you here.

* * *

From: QCSuarez_B

To: EIC-Hudson- HunterJA

BCC:MeadeDA

Subject: Re: Job opportunity at Hudson magazine

Time send: 1/20/2005 11:46:18

After careful consideration and a long phone call with my father, I accept your job offer for Hudson, though I should probably ask more details. That's how I ended up working at the cat Hospital. What will I be doing?

Thank you for the offer about your friend's magazine but let's just see how things go at Hudson for now.

* * *

From: EIC-Hudson- HunterJA

To: MeadeDA

Subject: Promise me you won't try to have sex with your girlfriend in the copy room.

Time send: 1/20/2005 12:21:01

There's no crush. I'm not your father. I only sleep with people on the job that I knew before working there.

My lover killed himself only a few weeks ago. I'm not going to be ready for a new boyfriend for a very long time even if Marc brought cupcakes. He's going a little wild on the being able to eat thing. I think we got him out of Mode just in time but I probably should have him see a therapist anyway. Who knows what permanent damage Wilhelmina has done.

Also your girlfriend just accepted the position despite what she sent you earlier. Now, I have to talk to HR about actually creating the position. Considering we are covering up their 'discrimination problem' I think they will be willing to create a position with health coverage that will pay for your girlfriend's braces. I knew that was a problem for her even without you forwarding me her email. She mentioned it three times Saturday.

* * *

From: MeadeDA

To: QCSuarez_BR

Subject: Re: Did you just asked your friend to give me a job?

Time send: 1/20/2005 13:21:01

I'm glad you're taking the job because unlike me you have actually earned this job. I'm so happy I'm going to get to see you every day.

* * *

From: MeadeDA

To: QCSuarez_BR

Subject: re: Did you just asked your friend to give me a job?

Time send: 1/20/2005 13:21:01

I think I only said yes because I want to see you every day. I will see you tomorrow after I talked to HR.

* * *

From: Extreme_Jordan

To: QCSuarez_BR

Subject: Don't worry about your sister

Time send: 1/20/2005 17:44:41

Don't worry about your sister. I don't know her that well but I think she's jealous of you. You need to do your own thing. Your mom sounds like she was a really good person. I think that goodness lives on in you.

I promise to keep an eye on your boyfriend tonight and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. He's been well behaved since he has met you. You are a very good influence on him.

* * *

From: MeadeDA

To: EIC-Hudson- HunterJA

Subject: Thank you.

Time send: 1/20/2005 17:58:01

Thank you for extending the job offer to her. I forgot to say that when I forwarded her email to you. Also, thank you for arranging things so Betty will work here. I will not have sex with her in the copy room. What is your opinion on make out sessions in the steam room?

* * *

From: EIC-Hudson- HunterJA

To: MeadeDA

Subject: Re: Thank you.

Time send: 1/16/2005 13:21:01

As long as you do your job I don't care. She should really help you on your shopping on a budget article.

* * *

From: Extreme_Jordan

To: QCSuarez_BR

Subject: Daniel was a good boy.

Time send: 1/21/2005 8:21:01

You'll be happy to know that your boyfriend only drank one drink and spent the entire night talking about you. I now know about every single class here taking this semester. I don't think I've ever seen Daniel light up so much. (He also told me what's going on with Wilbur. Now I know why you don't want to talk about it. Really, don't pay attention to anything your sister says. I'm glad you suggested that I hang out with Daniel. It was good. He's fun to be around when he's not trying to sleep with you. Although I'm sure you believe the same to be true when he is trying to sleep with you.

Jamie was there with his new assistant. No, I did not have sex with him again. Something may have actually happened last weekend but I think we're well on our way to just being friends who bonded over a very traumatic experience. Both Daniel and Jamie told me about you losing your job due to the moron.

I think you will do good at Hudson, at least temporarily. If it doesn't work I can always use a personal assistant. My publicist has been suggesting it for years.

* * *

From: HR_ Meade_publications

To: SuarezBR

Subject: Welcome to Meade publication

Time send: 1/21/2005 11:13:12

Welcome to the Meade publications family.

You will be serving as the personal assistant to Hudson magazine editor-in-chief Jamie Hunter.

Your position entitles you to full medical and dental benefits.

Click here to learn more about all the amenities entitled to Meade employees.

To be continued.

* * *

Remember, comments make me give up sleep to write.


	6. Don't Listen to Marc or Your sister

Thank you to everyone who read or reviewed the last chapter. Thank you to everyone who has left kudos.

Marc and Amanda make their appearance in this chapter because I love them both to pieces and had to get them in the story as soon as possible. Unfortunately, they are going to be a bit bitchy in this chapter because I have to write my two favorite characters, after Betty and Daniel, as close to their first season characterizations as I can. I'm surprised how different it is writing pre-series Marc and Amanda compared to writing post-series Marc and Amanda. There was definitely a lot of growth in those four years. However, the Betty effect should kick in eventually.

Some things in this chapter have been taken from the pilot episode and episode 3.2 but it's going to be different.

The Hudson offices are going to have the same layout as the Mode offices but with some more masculine touches.

* * *

Chapter 5: Don't Listen to Marc, Mandy, or Your sister

**Monday, January 31, 2005**

"Betty, please come out of the bathroom!" Daniel said pleading with his girlfriend on the other side of the door. She has been locked in there for the last 20 minutes since an incident with the glass doors of death in the conference room. Although, Daniel is pretty sure she was already crying when she ran headfirst into the conference room door.

According to the receptionist, that Daniel still hasn't learned the name of, Betty may have accidentally overheard Marc and his best friend, that keeps hitting on him, talking about how shocked they were at the fact that Daniel was sleeping with the girl with the ugly teeth and crazy hair. Even after rejecting her several times, Amanda has yet to realize that he was not interested because of Betty. Until last Wednesday, they were sure he was a closet case and that Betty was his cover to keep up his happy heterosexual reputation. (This rumor may have started because someone may have overheard him telling Jamie that he would sleep with Marc just to piss off Bradford if he didn't have a girlfriend.) Of course, they were wondering why he could not get a prettier person to act as his cover.

The receptionist also mentioned the fact that most of the office believed that he and Betty were having sex and that was why Jamie hired her. Considering this was Hudson, Daniel is not that surprised that this rumor was already going around, despite the fact that Betty has only been there a week and a half. Daniel could deal with those sorts of rumors (it is not like it's the first time) if actual sex was involved. Unfortunately, they were still in the not sex stage. Right now Daniel was only happy about that because he could honestly tell people that Betty's bedroom skills had nothing to do with her ability to get this job.

"No," the fact that he heard Betty sniffle broke his heart a little.

"Nobody cares that you ran into the conference room door. I think I have done it a few times myself. I may have been drunk at the time but…" he stopped when Betty cut him off.

"You're not making me feel better," she said with a sad sigh.

"I thought making a fool of myself would do that." He said with a light laugh.

"It may be helping a little." Betty said after a moment.

"I thought so." Daniel said with a smirk.

"I don't belong here. I'm just some girl from Queens who two weeks ago was clean up after cats to pay the bills. Half of the office thinks I'm only here because we're sleeping together due to Marc walking in on us Wednesday."

So it only took him three days to break Jamie's no fooling around with Betty in his office rule. He couldn't help it. Somehow Betty managed to convince a photographer that Alex pissed off a few months earlier to do a shoot just by sending him a sandwich from the old neighborhood. That called for Betty getting special "dictation" in his office. Of course, he's not used to the new door and he forgot to lock it. Marc saw him going down on Betty. That ended the speculation about him being a closet case to be replaced with the thing about Betty getting her job on her back.

"Yes you do. In addition to getting us a brilliant photographer to do our first cover shoot post Alex you managed to come up with a use for Alex's old office." Betty suggested that they should make Alex's old office the new staff lounge. The old lounge will be converted into Jamie's office. His father's willingness to pay for the renovations out of the general budget was as close to an apology as they were ever going to get.

"Also you managed to convince upcoming menswear designer James St. Jimmy to do fashion week. Marisol and Marc could not do that after weeks of groveling due to my brother also pissing Mr. St. Jimmy off." Now that he was doing more than entertaining the advertisers at strip clubs, he has realized that Alex pissed off a lot of people in this industry. Actually, he was starting to wonder if his main job was entertaining the advertisers due in part to the fact that Alex had pissed off a lot of people.

"Marc doesn't like me and that was before Wednesday even after I helped his friend with her ridiculous assignments from Wilhelmina." Daniel was sure she was blushing behind the door. She's so cute when anyone brought up anything 'not-sex' related.

"I'm sure you haven't realized this before but most people say nasty things to you because they're jealous. Those people who made fun of your teeth and called you granny panties were angry that you had a 4.0 GPA. Amanda is Amanda and I think saying mean things is how she says that she likes you. Your sister is mad at you because you got to go to college on scholarship and she had to change diapers. Marc is utilizing the rumor mill because he's frightened by you." Considering the apology and groveling that he has already received from Marc since Betty locked herself in the bathroom, Daniel was sure that was the case.

"I don't believe you," she said with another sniffle. He hated the thought of her crying. He just wanted to hug her, which was why he got down on his knees and crawled under the door.

"What are you doing?" Betty asked backing away to give him room to get inside.

"If you won't come out, I just have to come to you." Daniel said as he put an arm around her but Betty pulled away.

"What's the real reason why you're crying in the bathroom?" Daniel asked wanting to know why his girlfriend was so upset. She didn't seem like the type of person to be easily hurt by gossip.

* * *

**Friday, February 21, 2005**

Betty was happy when she made it to school Friday morning without seeing her former boyfriend. Her dad threatening to kill him did no good, but her sister threatening to chop off his favorite part did. Of course, this threat was only made after Hilda caught him with the skank next door but Betty was just happy that her sister was being supportive.

Her marketing class seemed to last forever, mostly because she knew she would see Daniel afterwards. The same could be said for the train ride into Manhattan. It seemed to take twice as long as it actually did but at least she had time to read the first two chapters of the _Namesake_ for Junior English.

The meeting with HR was overwhelming but at least that snooty guy that would barely take her resume from last spring was not there. Actually, the woman was really nice and told her all about her new job. Technically, she would be Jamie's personal assistant/intern and would be doing any special project that he assigned. Right now she would be working with Jamie's regular assistant on logistics for Hudson's Five to Watch fashion show. She was going to ask Daniel what that really meant. It probably involves catering but she's not sure if models actually eat. But these were male models, so who knew.

She was a little worried when they gave her a new blackberry and laptop. She was sure that Daniel called in a special favor until the HR lady explained that because of her school schedule she was being given telework privileges. She would only be coming into the office, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Tuesdays and Thursdays she would be working from home. She wondered what type of things they would have her do. She wondered if Jamie would let her do any writing. What would she write for a men's magazine? Granted she knew more about Hudson than Mode magazine but she still wasn't sure she could write anything for it. Betty just kept telling herself repeatedly that this will be better than cleaning up after cats especially when their angry owner's start hitting you with her purse.

It took so long that Betty was scared she was going to be late for her lunch with Daniel. She had only five minutes to get up to the Hudson offices by the time everything was over with.

The place was beautiful although Daniel was right about the mood of the office. Everyone was very somber and dressed in black, except for the guy sitting up front wearing purple talking to another girl in a short cream dress that was a little inappropriate for the workplace. Betty smiled to herself when she hears the girl talk about how editor yummy was completely ignoring her despite his reputation as a man slut as well as the crazy/impossible assignment her new boss gave her. Betty was sure 'editor yummy' was a reference to Daniel.

"Marc you have to come back. I don't think I can do this anymore. She scares me. I haven't had a piece of bread since Monday. She gave my emergency chocolate to fat Carol. She wants me to give her Botox injections and I have no idea how to get that stupid crown thing for the April cover." The woman said on the verge of tears. Betty almost felt sorry for her.

"Snap out of it Mandy. You will go back down there and give her the Botox injections and you will like it and you will figure out a way to get the crown." The guy named Marc said sort of shaking her.

"But she hates me and she scares me. You're my best friend. Getting to stare at the yummy editor is not worth ruining this." She said pleading most likely referring to her boyfriend again.

"Wilhelmina hates everyone." The man said putting an arm around her.

"I think she sort of didn't hate you. She was furious when they took you away and she's taking it out on me. All she does is talk about you." She said as she started to cry harder.

Betty was sure this conversation was going to keep going on and she decided that she needed to interrupt.

"Excuse me, can you please tell me where I can find Jamie Hunter's office?" As much as she wanted to know where Daniel was she should probably see her new boss first.

"Are you the before or maybe the in between?" The girl referred to as Mandy asked as her tears started to subside. "The outfit is ok, even if it's from a diffuse collection."

"Thank you, my boyfriend picked it out." She said sort of blushing.

"But the only excuse for hair like yours is an all week sex marathon. Considering you started blushing when you mentioned your boyfriend picked out your outfit, I don't think you're that type of girl." Mandy said looking at her deviously.

"I'm sure that was the look her boyfriend was going for." She heard Jamie joke as he approached with Daniel.

Daniel looked like he was about to kiss her but she gave him a quick look. They needed to be professional. She didn't want the entire office thinking that she only got her job because they were sleeping together, not that they were actually sleeping together but it was close enough.

"Amanda shouldn't you get back to Dragon lady. I really don't want her coming back up in an attempt to steal my new assistant." Jamie said sternly. Of course, by that point Amanda was making her way towards Daniel and placed an arm around him or at least try to. Daniel pulled away quickly and moved closer to her.

"Please don't make me go down there. She scares me. I still don't know how to get the crown thing. I would rather spend time around you and Daniel. You know I could have gone to the club last night. I'm willing to do anything involving alcohol." She said now trying to flirt with Jamie, instead of Daniel. The guy in purple was rolling his eyes.

"I promise Marisol will protect you." Jamie said putting an arm around her and leaving her to the elevator.

"What just happened?" Betty asked kind of surprised.

"That is Amanda, Marc's sort of best friend and she is a little ... I'm not sure how to describe her except that she is Amanda. She was the receptionist at Mode until Monday after a series of events resulted in Marc moving up here and Amanda being promoted to his old job. I think I told you about Wilhelmina." Daniel explained.

"I think you called her an ice queen." Betty said remembering his angry rant on the way back from the mall last week.

"Don't speak ill of my former boss, she's not evil just high maintenance. Besides the ice queen of Mode is Faye." Marc said bitterly.

"I agree." Betty heard Daniel mumble under breath.

"According to Mandy, the divine Ms. Somers has known her since she was a little girl yet she handed her over to Wilhelmina as a beautiful sacrifice. I am the first assistant that Wilhelmina Slater has had for more than three months since she became creative director at Mode. She makes everyone do something nearly impossible like get that stupid tiara and nobody has ever been able to do it. If it wasn't for her shoe habit Mandy would have left yesterday." The guy explained.

"I think that title applies to both women equally along with a few more derogatory ones. The only carbohydrates you were allowed to consume came from alcohol." Jamie said returning. "I admire you for being a good friend but can you please take her into Alex's old office the next time she gets slightly hysterical. Please remind her that I'm not interested and Daniel actually has a girlfriend." Marc actually snickered at that.

"Yes, Mr. Hunter. Although, the girlfriend thing has not stopped Mandy before. Actually, the boyfriend thing has not stopped her before." Marc said with another snicker.

"It is Jamie. Also, I'm worried that Wilhelmina may be using her to spy on what we are doing for fashion week so please don't say anything." Jamie told him with a sigh.

"Of course Mister—Jamie." Marc said quickly.

"So you're not doing all the prep work for fashion week alone, I brought in Betty Suarez to help you. She's a third-year student at Queens College majoring in business and marketing. She's also going to be helping Daniel on a few feature projects." She smiled at that.

"You're going to help me put together a fashion show?" Marc said looking at her dubiously.

"I assume that I probably will be helping you with things like ordering catering and putting gift bags together. I'm aware you have more experience than I do and I'm just here to help." She said trying to put the man at ease.

"If you knew anything about Fashion Week, you would know that nobody eats. You had to have your boyfriend dress you, who apparently has good taste for a straight guy." He said giving her a look that said you know nothing. Betty kind of agreed with him.

"Thank you." Daniel said putting an arm around her that instantly eased her fears. "Since, I'm the one choosing most of the designers, I think that's a good thing.

"You're dating her?" Marc asked as his mouth opened in shock. "That does explain her hair."

"They met at Daniel's grief support group." Jamie explained using the same cover that they have been giving to everyone else.

"People do strange things after the death of someone close. I almost had sex with a girl after my dad died." Marc said with a shiver. Daniel just glared at him. Betty actually felt pains of sympathy for the guy.

"If it makes you feel better after my mom died, I slept with a guy who I now have to have a restraining order against." She said with a smile in an effort to be comforting.

"Slightly," He said shrugging. "Now I remember why your name is so familiar. You are that girl that the prick in HR would not let into the STARS program, despite the 3.7 GPA, because of her bad wardrobe. That guy has always had bad taste, which is why he never called me back. Like Mandy said your outfit is okay but the hair needs a gallon of moisturizer and some sort of styling product. Although, I'm guessing he's responsible for that." He said pointing to Daniel who had his head in his hands. At this point, Jamie was furious and Betty was really confused.

"Also, I know the name of a good orthodontist and I'm assuming that Jamie was kind enough to get you dental." He said pointing to her teeth. Apparently that was the last straw for Jamie.

"I think we need to talk more about fashion week details in my office right now." Jamie said grabbing him by the arm. Betty could hear the screaming from the hallway as an asthma inhaler came out. The only thing she could make out was, "Do you want to scare all the competent people away to Isabella? I told you not to mention the HR thing," and "Just breathe; I can finish yelling at you once the medication kicks in."

"Daniel what is he talking about?" Betty asked Daniel in complete puzzlement. Thanks to the open layout of _Hudson_ most people were staring at her.

"What is your favorite food to eat when you're having a bad day?" Daniel asked not answering her question.

"French fries, they are my go to food during times of stress." She told him.

"Okay, French fries it is." Daniel said as he instructed the receptionist to hold all his calls after he returned with his coat. She's sure it's a new office because there were boxes everywhere and he's not sharing with two other people like he told her about before. Thanks to the Walter situation they haven't really got to talk that much in the last week. She was very happy to have a blackberry right now.

On the way to one of the best French fry places in Manhattan, Daniel told her what Jamie would be expecting her to do. Not once did he explain what Marc was talking about until she had a very large serving of cheese fries.

"Daniel, just tell me what's going on. I'm a little worried. The last time anybody refused to tell me something until I had food was when my mother died. I'm never going to be able to eat a Snickers bar again. You're not breaking up with me?" She asked realizing that the whole situation was a little too good to be true. Mandy or whatever her name is seemed to be very interested in Daniel. She seemed more like the type of girl he would actually be in two.

"No, I'm still interested in being with you. If I thought that I could get away with it, I would take you back to my hotel room but you're not into that sort of thing." Daniel said giving her hand a little squeeze.

"Yeah but that girl Mandy was into you and would go back to your hotel room. She called me the 'before', whatever that means." Betty said eating one of her French fries.

"As I said before Amanda is kind of like that. She flirts with everyone, even Marc. Let's just say, he's more Jamie's type." Daniel said taking one of her fries as his fingers brushed hers again. He was taking her fries because he got a salad.

"Isn't everyone Jamie's type?" Betty asked enjoying the contact of his fingers.

"He doesn't date the stupid or shallow. That pretty much rules out most of the people at Mode. Don't listen to what Amanda said earlier. You're pretty and don't require airbrushing."

"What about what Marc said about me not being hired because of my wardrobe?" She asked and Daniel almost choked on his stolen French fry.

"I was hoping you would forget about that." He said taking a drink of his diet soda.

"I have an excellent memory."

"You have an excellent everything." Daniel said grabbing another one of her French fries. They were already in the habit of eating off each other's plates after knowing each other for just three weeks. Actually, she thinks he only got a salad so he could take her French fries.

"Okay, Jamie asked me to give him your resume. I didn't want to ask you, so I called a friend in HR and asked her to pull up the resume you submitted last summer. Jamie was impressed and wanted to know why we never saw your application. It turned out that there was somebody in HR who skipped out on EEO training. Despite how high your GPA was nobody received your resume for the program because the idiot decided to not forward qualified people because they didn't look the way he wanted them to. What is your GPA now? I know you said you had some problems because of your mom being sick." He asked with genuine concern.

"3.46, I have to maintain a 3.5 to keep my scholarship. Are you telling me that I wasn't hired because of the way I look. That's illegal." She blurted out, trying to keep the hurt out of her voice.

"Very illegal and unfortunately you were not the only one. There was a guy from NYU with a 3.9 GPA and his resume was also put in the 'round filing cabinet' because he came to the interview in Birkenstocks and had dreadlocks. Another person's resume was only sent to Diversity Business because she utilized a wheelchair." Betty didn't know what to think of what Daniel was telling her. The fact that Daniel looked upset made Betty feel a little better.

"Does it make you feel better to know that the guy was fired after we found out what he was doing?" Daniel asked after a moment of silence.

"Just a little." She said taking another fry.

"The people that matter are going to see the real you. The people that don't see how wonderful you are don't matter." He told her trying to make her feel better but a part of Betty didn't believe him. That part sounded suspiciously like her sister.

* * *

Daniel was so tempted to kill Marc and his friend for screwing with his girlfriend self-esteem. 10 minutes with her and they have managed to undo all his good work for the last three weeks.

"I think losing an internship opportunity matters." Betty said bitterly. He could sense that she was upset. He knew that Betty would be heartbroken when she found out what happened last summer. That's why he didn't want her to find out. Unfortunately, Marc screwed up.

"Yes and the Washington Post wanted you instead. Jamie wants you at Hudson now. You're even getting to telework. I would love to do that." He said taking her French fries again. He only got a salad so he could still some of her food.

"Would you actually work?" She said as she grabbed a piece of chicken from his salad.

"With you, yes. Let's finish lunch and then we can go back to the office so I can give you the grand tour and get you up to speed." He said with a smirk. He personally was tempted to give her a tour of the steam room but he doubted they would get to do anything fun. He wanted to kiss her right now but didn't because he wasn't sure Betty could handle being all over the tabloids. He saw her face when Marc expressed his shock over their relationship.

"I think Jamie mentioned something about helping you with a shopping on a budget article."

"It was originally supposed to be a Business wear on a budget article, but Jamie is thinking about doing a welcome to the real world/workforce issue in May for recent college graduates. So it may become an article about dressing to impress on your first job interview." Daniel explained.

"So it's supposed to be dressing to impress the boss on a college student's budget article." Betty said with a slight frown.

"Exactly and since you are the only college student I know I thought you could help. I can pick you up Tuesday after your morning lecture and have you back in time for your five PM class. You can take me to that Wal-Mart place that Jamie says I must go to. Why exactly did you decide to take a class that late?" He asked confused. Daniel never took really late classes or early ones for that matter, except for writing. Those were the only type of classes that he would risk his partying schedule for.

"Because it was the only time available and a lot of the classes at Queens College are designed for commuter students who work full-time. I'll go with you but I personally think this is just some way for you to get paid to go out with me. That sounded a lot better in my head." Betty said after a moment with a laugh. His Betty was back.

* * *

When Jordan received a very detailed phone call with specific instructions not to make Betty self-conscious about her wardrobe or hair, she was 99.9% sure that Daniel Meade has finally found the one woman to take him off the competitive dating circuit for good. Personally, she felt Alex should have delayed his suicide long enough to see Daniel grow up. Unfortunately, if Alex didn't do what he did, she wondered if she would ever see this side of Daniel Meade.

Of course, Jordan was sure that the changes in Daniel were more Betty related than anything else. She made him want to try. She had something about her that made everything seem possible. So with Betty by her side she found a two-bedroom in Chelsea and therefore took the first tentative steps in creating her post Alex life. She probably could have afforded something more extravagant but growing up the way she did, Jordan did not like to spend money unnecessarily. What's the point of having a $20,000 a month apartment when you're only going to be there one week a month, if that.

"I think that went better than I thought it would." Jordan said as they sat at the karaoke pizza place three blocks away. She loved pizza but usually couldn't eat it when training. Due to the whole Alex thing, she hasn't exactly been following her training diet.

"That guy almost tried to rent you an apartment with the shower in the middle of the living room." Betty said.

"Which is why I told you to always look at the apartment first, the one across was fine. Now that I have a two-bedroom, you can come visit until your little ex-boyfriend problem is solved." Betty mentioned something about him completely ignoring the restraining order when they were looking at apartment number four of the morning. Her mom had a similar problem with one of her former boyfriend's and let's just say there's a reason why her mom was so eager to take a job in Cleveland besides the reputation of the hospital. Just like Daniel, she was a little worried about the whole Walter thing, which is why she decided to get a guest room.

"I'll think about it." Betty said putting a slice of pizza on her plate.

"Thankfully, because we found something by 2 PM, we can still make the appointment with John Luke." Jordan said grabbing her own slice.

"I assume that he is your hairdresser?" Betty asked dubiously.

"Yes but he's kind of a friend too. He's been trying to get me to come in for my husba-boyfriend died hairstyling therapy session for a couple of weeks now." She said correcting herself.

She and Alex only discussed the M word one time at Thanksgiving before everything went down. She was forced to attend a very Mead corporate Thanksgiving at Bradford's townhouse where everyone kept asking her and Alex if they were ever going to get engaged and Jamie managed to break a wine glass. She said she wasn't completely opposed to getting married but Alex freaked out and disappeared for the rest of the night. In hindsight, Jordan couldn't help but wonder if her words sent him over the edge. Was there anything she could've done to keep him from killing himself?

"You guys were together for two years. It probably felt like your husband did die. You're kind of acting a lot like my dad except…"

"I keep having sex with my dead boyfriend's boyfriend." She said taking another bite of pizza. Her trainer was going to kill her if she kept eating like this. At least, she had the good sense to order a salad and steamed vegetables. The most cardio that she's had in the last three weeks has been sex with Jamie. It happened again last night and this time she wasn't even drunk. Actually the whole thing made more sense in her sober mind because Jamie was about as close to her dead boyfriend as she was going to get.

"I'm not judging you." Betty said looking at her pizza. The strange thing was Jordan knew Betty wasn't going to judge her.

"Even I know it's not a good coping strategy. I'm sure a new hairstyle is a better way to deal with everything." Yes, having sex with Jamie was bad. Although, it was probably better than the drinking. She was currently proud of herself for drinking water with lemon instead of wine or beer. The sex with Jamie thing probably wouldn't happen again mostly because Jamie spent most of the time 'complaining' about his new assistant who keeps stopping by with food at the strangest times. Maybe they could just do the conversations with out the sex. She was starting to see why Alex liked Jamie so much. Maybe if she realized earlier, they could have come to some sort of agreement and Alex wouldn't be dead right now.

"Again, I'm not one to judge, remember Wilbur- I mean Walter. Now Daniel has me doing it." Jordan's response was to laugh.

"Maybe quality time with your friend/hair stylist will be good for you. You did invite me just for moral support and not because you hate my hair?" This question did not surprised Jordan at all. Sometime last night before they decided to use sex as a coping strategy, Jamie mentioned the whole incident with the girl who keeps hitting on Daniel and why he felt horrible about causing his new assistant to have an asthma attack.

"Is this about what Amanda said to you yesterday?" Jordan asked calmly.

"No—maybe—yes," Betty stammered out after a minute.

"Jamie said that Amanda is a nice person except she's a little… Essentially she has not learned the fine art of self-censorship and its best not to take anything she says seriously." Jordan said as opposed to directly quoting Jamie and saying that Amanda is a "sweet bitch with a good heart that hasn't yet learned that designer labels are not everything".

"So there is something wrong with my hair?" Betty asked and Jordan realized that Daniel had a right to be worried about her self-esteem.

"You're a college student who works part-time. You should see what I looked like on a workout days when I'm training for an event. Right now, it is taking all my energy to just put on lipstick. I was a disaster the first few days after..." Jordan said remembering those dark days after Alex died. She didn't even change her outfit for two days.

"I was kind of the same way. I may have borrowed a lot of things from my mother's closet. The puffy coat that Daniel doesn't like was actually hers." Jordan wanted to put her head in her hands. She was already writing Daniel a text message to lay off the puffy coat.

"It's not that he doesn't like the coat it's probably more that it doesn't fit your personality." Jordan told her with a smile.

"Daniel keeps saying that he would still like me if I was wearing a burlap sack but I don't believe him. Have you seen Amanda or that girl he took to Alex's wake? I can't compete with that. Jamie's new assistant keeps emailing me information on orthodontists and invisible braces." She said again looking at her pizza.

"Maybe Marc is just trying to be helpful and you are planning on getting braces anyway." Jordan suggested but Betty just gave her a strange look.

"Jamie says that Daniel isn't at all interested in Amanda. There's a better chance that he would sleep with Marc and that's only because he's really mad at Bradford. I'm sure Daniel told you the real reason why Bradford hired Marc." Betty's response was to laugh.

"As for Bambi or whatever her name actually was, she completely abandoned Daniel at his brother's funeral when he needed emotional support more than anything else. She also called his mother a drunken lush and a coldhearted bitch when Daniel was not around. You don't even want to know what I overheard her say about Alex in the bathroom after we spread his ashes." It was all nasty and Jordan was personally glad that Daniel let go of the girl the next day.

"Trust me, that girl may belong on the cover of Mode but I have never met an uglier person. You can't fix an ugly soul. I'm almost tempted to start singing TLC." She said remembering the song from college.

"I think the song _Unpretty_ was what got me through junior high." Jordan smiled to herself as she remembered they were in a karaoke pizza place.

"I think you need some TLC therapy." Jordan said getting up from the table and started to drag Betty to the sign-up area.

"You want to sing?" Betty asked.

"You told me that you love karaoke. That's why you knew that there was a pizza place here." Jordan told her as they kept walking.

"That's because I was planning to take Daniel here tonight." She said blushing. That right there was the only reason why Jordan believed that the two have not gone all the way.

"I don't think Daniel's planning to let you out of his hotel room." Jordan said with a snicker as she looked over the song choice book. Fortunately, Unpretty was available.

"I doubt that- I'm not…" Betty stammered as her cheeks became the same color as her pink dress.

"The guy is painting his apartment for you. He would never do something like that for Amanda or anyone else for that matter. He likes you. You just need to believe in yourself and reciting the lyrics of TLC will help." She said dragging Betty to the stage.

* * *

At 6 PM Betty showed up to his hotel room practically bouncing with equally bouncy hair. It was a little shorter but still long enough for him to run his fingers through it. She looked good.

"I see that Jordan talked you in to actually getting your hair done." Daniel said as he gave her a quick kiss before letting her in to his hotel suite.

"It happened sometime during TLC karaoke/self-esteem therapy. I decided to try something that would be easier to take care of and John Luke gave me an entire tutorial on proper hair care." She said as she placed a giant bag from the salon on his coffee table. He assumed it contain lots of hair care products.

"TLC karaoke therapy?" Daniel said raising one eyebrow.

"Jordan made me sing the songs Unpretty and Video," she explained as she sat down on his couch.

"I don't think that is a TLC song." Daniel said sitting next to her as he placed an arm around her.

"No, we went through a lot of girl power songs. Also after a very angry rendition of Emotions, where I think Jordan finally broke through some of her issues with your brother, I did Bug A Boo. We may have worked on my Walter issues as well." She said with another blush.

"I would've loved to have seen that." He said smirking.

"Well if I didn't take Jordan to that place, I was going to take you tonight and you would've got to see that. I love karaoke." She said with that Betty bounce that he liked so much.

"We will definitely have to do that eventually but I think that's more of a group thing. We can invite Jordan and Jamie there in a couple of weeks." Betty frowned at that.

"Won't you be in Paris by that point?" She asked sadly.

"That depends on if my mom can get through a 30 day program without running again. My dad's assistant Helen called to inform me that my mom was now in a new rehab center called Forest Hills after running away yesterday." Daniel said sadly. He wanted his mom to get better. He didn't want to deal with her death too.

"I'm sorry," She said squeezing his hand.

"It's okay. I don't want to talk about it. Besides, I have to get you back to Queens in a couple of hours. We should probably have dinner." Marc was kind enough to get him reservations at a very nice Italian restaurant that wouldn't be teaming with paparazzi. He wants to keep their relationship quiet for a little while. Betty was already having to deal with Wilbur stalking her, she didn't need fashion TV doing the same.

"I thought you were going to show me some of those things that you couldn't write because my nephew has a tendency to read all my emails." Betty said as she kissed him in a way that made him very happy that she was wearing a dress. Daniel was a little shocked at how aggressive she was being but he liked it. Just a couple weeks ago she was freaking out about him trying to have phone sex with her.

"Good plan. Although, I'm not used to girlfriends that actually eat but don't you actually want to eat." He said reflectively pulling away.

"You know I've always wanted to try room service at a big fancy hotel." She said being bouncy again.

"Room service it is." He said as he returned to kissing her. Okay, his hand may have been halfway up her skirt within 10 seconds. He was starting to enjoy this not sex stuff of her, especially when room service brought up with cream, hot fudge, and ice cream. She actually was into the human Sunday thing.

* * *

Betty was hoping to sneak back into her bedroom when she got back to Queens at 11:30. Unfortunately, someone was waiting for her. Fortunately, it wasn't her overprotective father or sister but rather her nephew.

"Where were you? I wanted to see your new hair. How long does apartment shopping really take?" Justin said half asleep from the couch.

"A really long time, especially when the person you're shopping with is trying to avoid any neighborhood that reminds her of her dead boyfriend. Shouldn't you be in bed?" She asked.

"Shouldn't you or at least be studying?" He said crossing his arms.

"I will have you know I did most of my reading last night after I got home from Hudson." The new laptop was a godsend. She no longer had to share the old computer in the living room with everyone. Homework would be a lot easier now.

"Is that chocolate sauce?"Justin said pointing to the stain on her dress. She just hoped that he didn't notice any of the other 'stains' on her dress.

"Ice cream may have been involved at some point. You know I'm a messy eater. I came home covered in cheese sauce yesterday." Why did she let Daniel talk her into eating ice cream off of his stomach? Oh, yes, because a little tiny traitorous part of her mind was afraid that if she didn't do something like that he would go straight for Amanda. It went pretty well despite her burning him with hot fudge. Apparently, Daniel likes a little pain.

"I'm 10, not three. I'm pretty sure that stain is not chocolate." Justin said with a shiver. "Also, I don't think the guy at the salon gave you a I-just-got…" Betty gave him the look. "I wasn't going to say that word. I was just going to say I-just-got-out-of-bed-hair."

"No, you weren't. You're too young to know that word." Betty said in horror. Her 10-year-old nephew should know nothing about sex.

"I go to public school in Queens. What do you think we talk about at lunch? Maria Martinez told me it's possible to get pregnant without actually having sex sex because it happened to her sister. So you may want to be careful with those stains on your dress." Despite that being ridiculous, Betty was mortified. Betty was pretty sure her sister tried to say that's what happened when she got pregnant with Justin.

"I don't think I can get pregnant that way." She said with a blush as she just essentially admitted that she did certain activities with Daniel that led to the non-chocolate stain on her dress. "It's probably not best to get your answers to your sex questions from Maria or anyone else other than your mom or grandpa."

"I'm sure I can get the answers to my questions from you because apparently you've been having a lot of practice." He said pointing at her dress again. "Did you have fun with Daniel?"

"I'm not answering that question. You are 10 years old." Betty said that first before remembering that Hilda got pregnant with Justin at 16 and maybe she shouldn't just dismiss Justin's questions because it made her uncomfortable. She really did not want to become a great aunt before 30.

"But if you have questions and you don't feel comfortable talking to grandpa or your mom, you can come to me." She told him sincerely.

"My friend Jake says it's weird that I like shopping and said that I'm kind of gay." She frowned at that. She thought of Alex at that moment. Did people say that sort of thing to him growing up? Was that why he committed suicide and covered up his relationship with Jamie?

"Jake probably isn't your friend if he says stuff like that. My new boss Jamie is pansexual and he's a really great guy. Jordan likes to jump out of airplanes and swim across the English Channel and she dated Daniel's brother for two years. What you like doesn't determine who you are and who you sleep with doesn't either." Betty explained, thinking that maybe she should take her own advice.

"Are we going to hug? Because you're still covered in that substance I don't want to think about." He said pointing to her dress again. Betty is never going to live this down.

"Not right now. You probably will want to hug me when I let you know that Daniel said that you can help us next week with the article he's doing about dressing for success on a budget. There may be shopping involved." That's when Justin hugged her despite his earlier misgivings.

"Thank you, thank you." He said quickly before he started staring at her neck. "Do you know that you have bite marks on your neck?" He said pulling away, slightly creeped out again.

"I don't want to answer that question," she said blushing.

"You may want to wear a turtleneck tomorrow." Justin said with all too innocent of a voice.

"You threw away all my turtlenecks." She said referring to the purging that Justin did on her closet earlier this week. If Daniel did not take her shopping last weekend she wouldn't have hardly anything to wear. (Considering she just found out she missed out on an internship because of her wardrobe, maybe it would be good if she started dressing more professional.)

Justin was kind enough to leave the little mermaid pajamas for sentimental reasons as well as a few other things from her mother. She would've been furious if it wasn't for the fact that Justin was blackmailing her with the fact she was dating New York's most fashionable bachelor. She wanted her father to at least know Daniel before he started threatening him with bodily harm.

"Because they were covered with snow people and Christmas trees. You have a couple of very nice black and cream ones in your closet that came from your boss Jamie with a card that said sorry Marc is an idiot." She smiled at that.

"The card also said that you're probably going to need them if Daniel is anything like his brother. How would he know that if Jordan was the person dating Daniel's brother?" Betty went scarlet at that before running up the stairs as fast as possible. That was one question she didn't want to answer.

* * *

As much as he tried, Daniel cannot help but laugh.

"I think I did something like that to Alex one time." He was starting to see that the relationship between Betty and Justin was more like a big sister and little brother relationship then an aunt and nephew one.

"Daniel, it's not funny." She chastised. Daniel was just happy she wasn't crying anymore.

"It is a little should've told me this last week. Although, I'm kind of worried that you pretty much just told me that we went as far as we did because you're worried about me ditching you for Amanda or somebody like Bambi. I like you and we are going at this at your pace. No one has ever died of blue balls." He told her pulling her close to him. He wanted to punch out whoever was responsible for her seeing herself this way.

"I didn't say that. I said I may have been a little bit more aggressive because of that. It was my sister that said I am only having sex with you because I think that's the only way I will keep you. Actually, she said it the other way around." Betty may have mumbled something else but he didn't hear her.

Daniel is not surprised Hilda said something like that. Their first meeting did not go well at all, despite bringing a television set. She kept bringing up the age difference and essentially accused him of using Betty as a quick fuck and she didn't even know about his crappy reputation.

Obviously, Betty never told her sister what Wilber said after Betty discovered him screwing around on her but before he became obsessed. He was sure he was never going to have a very good relationship with Betty's sister. That may be because when Betty wasn't around he may have said something like, "Unlike your son's father, I'm not going to run away if the condom breaks, so stop acting like I will." Considering the icy glares he received the rest of the night, that was probably the wrong thing to say.

In contrast, Betty's father actually liked him. Though, again that may have something to do with bringing him a television set. It was not a big deal because it was Alex's and they were going to give it to charity anyway.

During their second meeting, just after he dropped Betty at home Friday after work and a quick dinner, Hilda called him several Spanish curse words that he still hasn't looked up yet. The hostility was probably caused by the fact that she caught him making out with Betty on her front porch but that was no excuse. Let's just say Daniel was happy that Betty and Justin met him in town Saturday afternoon.

"What exactly has your sister been saying to you?" He asked after a moment but Betty just stiffened in his arms and said nothing. "Regardless of what she actually said, I can tell you right now its complete shit. You need to stop listening to her, because she's just jealous."

"Hey are you guys done having sex in here? I really need to pee." Daniel heard Amanda ask and he can't help but roll his eyes.

"We are not having sex. Please stop spreading those rumors about us because they are not true." Daniel said opening the door and dragging Betty behind him. "Why are you not upstairs?"

"Kenny from accounting is sneaking into the ladies bathrooms again at Mode and Marc said I needed to bring up something from my new emergency supply of chocolate because we made the chubby one cry and his new favorite crush is mad at him." Daniel was sure she was talking about Marc having a crush on Jamie. He's not really that surprised.

"I'm sorry for what you overheard me and Marc say even after you helped me get the tiara which Wilhelmina did not use." Amanda said giving her a box of very nice chocolate. "Your hair is much nicer now and the sex must be really good if you and Daniel are in the bathroom together. I shouldn't have said it and I'm sorry but this doesn't mean we're friends. Also, I will stop trying to actively sleep with your boyfriend. Jamie is hotter, even if Marc is so in love with him already. I wonder if they would do a threesome?" Betty took the box from her tentatively.

"Apology accepted and thank you for no longer trying to sleep with my boyfriend." Daniel personally thinks that Betty is only accepting the apology because she's Betty. Daniel just wanted to know exactly what they said to send Betty hiding in the bathroom. He is sure there's more to the story.

* * *

Friday, January 28, 2005

Betty was exhausted after a very long day of snide comments and whisperers, despite helping Amanda get a tiara for a magazine that was not Hudson in between classes the day before, in addition to all her other duties. Jamie asked her to help because he was really tired of Amanda coming to his or Daniel's office to cry. Betty recognized the curator* from the cancer ward and they were able to borrow the crown for the photo shoot for a large donation to the hospital in memory of the curator's recently deceased daughter. The Museum will also be featured in an upcoming issue of Hudson which was Amanda's suggestion. Despite what happened that day, all she could hear was people in the elevator talking about how she got her job on her back. Apparently, Marc told everybody about what he saw Wednesday. She was starting to realize that Meade Publication was as vicious as high school with just as much gossip.

She almost forgot about what everybody was saying about her during her very nice dinner with Daniel until her sister accosted her after she caught her making out with Daniel on the front porch and called Daniel several nasty things in Spanish that she is not repeating.

"He's just using you. You're just a means to get off to him. He's only with you because you're letting him fuck you." Her sister said harshly as she slammed the door to Betty's room. At least, she was kind enough not to say anything until they were away from her father.

"Daniel is not like that." Betty said as she sat on her bed.

"Guys like him don't go for girls like you." Her sister said something like that Sunday too and has repeated it multiple times this week. Jordan told her not to pay attention, but it still hurt to hear her sister say something like that. Jordan also offered Betty her new guest room just in case Betty was tired of dealing with her sister.

"You mean girls with bad hair and bad teeth? Obviously, I'm the ugly sister that nobody would be interested in as a person and therefore Daniel is only interested in me because I'm spreading my legs. Do you really think so little of me?" Betty asked trying to keep the tears out of her eyes.

"So why exactly did you come back home tonight and last Saturday so late? I'm sure you guys were just playing checkers." Her sister asked not answering her question or maybe in a roundabout way she did. That told Betty that her sister really did see her that way.

"It's not that late. I had dinner with Daniel before he drove me home and I spent most of last Saturday with friends." It was sort of true. Daniel was a friend. Hilda's response was to laugh.

"Justin may not have known what those stains were Saturday but I did." Betty almost said yes your son did know what those stains were but kept silent on the matter.

"I'm so tired of you telling me that I'm not worth somebody like Daniel. He is not who you think he is and I don't have to settle because I'm not beautiful like you. The guy that you wanted me to go back to after I caught him cheating is the reason why we had to change our phone number. Despite the restraining order, I'm pretty sure I saw him staring out the next-door neighbor's window when I was with Daniel on the porch. Daniel was the one who helped me find a lawyer to deal with the Walter thing." Betty said as tears pricked her eyes.

"And we both know how you're expected to pay him back." She spat out bitterly.

"Daniel and I haven't had sex and it wouldn't matter if we did because I will be 21 in less than three months. I've been past the age of consent for a long time. Don't hate him because of what you've been through. Just because the condom broke and Justin's father is a horrible person, does not mean that you need to take it out on me." Betty said practically screaming.

"I'm trying to protect you because he will leave you the exact same way." Betty's response was to walk out of her bedroom and locked herself in the bathroom. She was so tired of this. She cried until her phone started to ring. She was hoping it was Daniel but it was actually Jordan. She quickly told Jordan everything. Jordan again reminded her not to listen to her sister.

"I do have my guest room setup if you need it." Jordan told her sincerely. Betty was seriously considering that especially in light of the fact she keeps running into her ex-boyfriend.

"I think that might be a good thing for at least a few days."

* * *

To be continued

*Because this takes place more than three years before the events of _Filing for the Enemy_ I figured it wouldn't be practical for the tiara situation to play out the same way. That is why I decided that Betty and Amanda would deal with a different curator this time around.

A/N: Because I have a little less than two months left to finish Starfleet Family Values before the new film comes out I'm going to be putting this story on the back burner for a while. It may be a couple weeks before there is an update. I will try to get something out before I go on vacation but I will not make any promises.


	7. Save Tonight

Thank you to everybody who read or reviewed the last chapter. I know everybody would love more fluffy Betty and Daniel dating however the plot must go on. I'm trying to avoid getting bogged down with side stories like I did with Adaptation Mode Style. I already know the story will be well over 100,000 words but I'm trying to keep it under 300,000 words (Yes, I did write a story well over 300,000 words).In addition, I would like to get to the reason why this story has its title before we get to Chapter 10.

On a side note, I'm really trying to keep characters in character. After re-watching a lot of season one I realized that Hilda wasn't exactly the most supportive sister in the world and she brought a lot of negative energy. At the core, I always thought this behavior came from two places: One she was jealous that her sister was living the life that Hilda assumed she would have had if she didn't get pregnant at 16. The other thing is she's trying to protect her sister because she doesn't want her to go down the same path. Basically, her actions are coming from a place of love and fear, which can be a very dangerous combination.

The title comes from an old Eagle eye Cherry song.

Well we know I'm going away

and how I wish - I wish it weren't so

so take this wine and drink with me

let's delay our misery

* * *

Chapter 7: Save Tonight

February 11, 2005

Betty stood in the Hudson offices raising her glass of champagne with everybody else after the successful completion of Fashion Week 2005. Everyone ignored the fact that it would be another two months before she could legally drink her champagne. Daniel said she deserved it because Hudson had the best Fashion Week ever and it was all because of her and Marc.

She could actually work with the man once he stopped making snide comments about her affinity for turtlenecks (Daniel enjoys biting way too much). Okay, they started to get along better when he stopped making her run around Manhattan looking for things like body milk and a specific brand of rice cakes for a certain egotistical male celebrity that will remain nameless that he just had to have or he wouldn't do the May was starting to see that maybe Daniel was right and Marc was being like that because he was scared and a little insecure. According to Amanda Wilhelmina was always threatening to replace Marc all the time and he was a little afraid that Jamie would do the same thing. She didn't understand why because Marc knew a lot more of what he was doing than she did. It was best if Betty constantly reminded herself that there was a lot she can learn from Marc.

She and Amanda have been – well they were not really friends but they were not really enemies either. It was kind of some weird mixture of the two things. It helped that Amanda wasn't trying to sleep with Daniel anymore, even if she was still flirting with him. Amanda said that she couldn't shut it off and proved her point by trying to kiss Betty. She would come to Betty for advice on how to do whatever crazy thing Wilhelmina asked and Bettywould go to her for help when the fashion aspects of her job became overwhelming (90% of the time). She was a lot nicer about it than Marc was.

Although, Betty was a little surprised about how much Amanda knew about what was really going on at Hudson and she didn't even work there. She may act like she's stupid but Amanda knew more than anyone gave her credit for. Amanda was really the only one who knew the real reason why she freaked out on Daniel nearly 2 weeks ago and locked herself in the Hudson bathroom. It was true that they were talking about her and Daniel at the front desk (she's never going to live down the oral sex and Daniel's office thing). This was in addition to their snide comment about her teeth. They were trying to convince Jaime to let him and Amanda kidnap her and take her to an orthodontist for her birthday.

However, the conversation quickly changed to Amanda reassuring Marc that her little panic attack the day before was for nothing because her evil friend showed up this morning and she didn't need what he bought from the drugstore anymore. Betty instantly knew what she was talking about and panicked when she realized that her own monthly intrusion did not start that morning. It had only been a little more than two months since she slept with Walter and considering her sister didn't realize she was pregnant for about three months. Betty knew firsthand that periods could be misleading. She didn't want to be pregnant by a guy that was the reason why she was sleeping in Jordan's guest room at both her dad and friend's insistence. Her dad wanted her safe even if it meant moving in with a very new friend.

Her panic resulted in Betty going headfirst into the conference room door and hiding in the bathroom until Daniel reassured her that it was going to be okay. Her period showed up the next day, albeit a little light, confirmed that. However Amanda picked up on why Betty really was panicking and she was really grateful that she didn't open the suppose box of chocolates that Amanda gave her in front of Daniel. It didn't contain chocolate but rather condoms, a small bottle of personal lubricant, and a pregnancy test.

Her package was still in Betty's desk completely untouched. Amanda doesn't say anything beyond asking her if her rabbit died. Betty was kind of shocked by the question but she understood the reference and she replied that her rabbit was still perfectly course, Amanda asked this in front of Daniel who thankfully doesn't understand the reference.

After the success of the Hudson fashion show, the rumors are starting to die down about her only getting her job because she's sleeping with Daniel. Most people are taking her seriously. Okay it probably helps that she's been too busy with Fashion Week and classes to really care about the rumors or anything else. She's had worse things said about her, so Betty doesn't know why she's been so subconscious.

Because your sister is still saying those ugly things about you and Daniel, a certain treacherous voice in her mind told her. Fortunately this voice now sounds like Jordan instead of her sister. Her sister has yet to really apologize. The Sunday dinner with Daniel and Jordan the weekend before was a bit of a disaster filled with more snide comments and insults. Betty told herself that it really doesn't matter because dad and Justin completely love Daniel even though her father knows he's that Daniel Meade. At least that's something. Her sister was just— acting like that word that Betty doesn't like to say that Jordan has no trouble with. Her father said that Hilda was just trying to protect her but Betty is not so sure. Jordan said that fear and love makes people do really dumb things.

Betty was brought out of her thoughts by Daniel kissing her on the cheek. After the 'dictation incident' in his office and her hiding in the bathroom because of her sort of late period related panic attack they decided to lay down some strict rules for office behavior. The most affection that could be displayed inside the Hudson offices was a kiss on the cheek or caress of the hands. Even though the rumors are dying down she doesn't want new ones to start even if a part of her wanted to do the thing in the office again. (Although, Daniel doesn't know exactly why she was hiding in the bathroom he did agree with her idea that they wouldn't do anything more than what they were already doing until she talked to her gynecologist about contraceptives.)

"You're still with me." He asked as he gave her a look that made her heart beat faster.

"Yeah, I'm just tired. Between classes and Fashion Week, I don't think that I have slept more than four hours a night." She doesn't mention the extra commute time. Betty will be happy when Walter finally gets that she's not interested and she can go back to Queens (even if a part of her really does love being in New York). She's spending way too much time on the subway right now.

"We don't have to stay much longer. I know this is not your scene." That was a little bit more wild than Betty expected. Amanda snuck up because apparently the Hudson party was more fun due to Wilhelmina not letting anybody have more than two pieces of cheese and was currently doing Jell-O shots off of one of the guys from marketing.

"It's a little intense. Leaving may be good." Betty said as she goes into her little cubicle to get her jacket and purse.

"The Hudson 'Thank God we survived Fashion Week parties usually are a little crazy. Plus this is the real first party that we've had since…" Daniel trailed off and she knows that he was going to say, that this was the first real party that they've had since Alex died. He was getting better but dealing with his brother's death but she knew from her own experience it was going to take time. She doesn't even know how she managed to get through Thanksgiving and Christmas this year without breaking into tears.

"Do you want me to just drop you off at Jordan's apartment?" He asked tentatively. When he first found out that she was staying there he suggested that she could stay at his apartment now that the renovations were completed. She quickly reminded him that her father really did have a shotgun. He never suggested that again.

"Actually, I'm kind of hungry and Jordan has returned to her training diet. I'm not even sure if the house has potato chips right now." She didn't exactly have time to be today when they were setting everything up and Jordan's refrigerator was currently high-protein and low-carb (refined carbohydrates that is) because Betty hasn't had time to get her own food.

"Yes, I saw Marc take a piece of fruit out of your hand." Daniel said as they started to make their way to the elevator.

"He was trying to be helpful." Betty said as an excuse even if she found it kind of annoying.

"I don't like his version of helpful. Jamie thinks he needs to go to eating disorder rehab to counter program what Wilhelmina did to him. Are they still planning on kidnapping you for your 21st birthday to get pretty braces?" Daniel asked referring to Amanda, Marc and Jamie's plan for her birthday. Apparently the two were successful in convincing Jamie that she should get 'good braces' for her birthday, no matter what.

"Pretty much, Jordan is even going to help. Apparently, this is my big group birthday present." She's only going along with it because it is a birthday present. Daniel's response was to chuckle.

"Will you be here?" She said knowing he would be leaving soon for at least a month to deal with Alex's European affairs, his mother, and Meade Publications business overseas. Daniel was actually excited about the fact that his father wanted him to get more involved with the family business. Although, overall he didn't seem that excited about leaving her and Betty was secretly happy about that.

"I won't miss your birthday even if I just have to fly in for that. 21 is a very important birthday. It should be fun. I heard making out with braces can be enjoyable. I also heard girls with braces give good…" Just than the doors open and several older ladies walked into the elevator and that was a good thing because she was already blushing.

"Though, you're already really good at that." He whispered in her ear just low enough for her to hear, as he kissed her neck. She went scarlet. The sweet old lady beside her just gave her knowing look before saying, "to be young and in love again." As Daniel grabbed her hand she wished that statement was true but she was secretly scared that it wasn't.

They were at some burger place a couple of blocks away and Betty was being unbelievably cute as she stole his French Fries. She was making sexy eating noises with every bite making him slightly uncomfortable and very glad the light in the restaurant was so low. The way she licked ketchup off her French Fry was almost obscene and she had no idea she was doing it. Before Betty he never really enjoyed the actual date part of 'dating' but he enjoyed talking to Betty about her day or just spending time with her in general. Justin stories were always interesting and Betty usually provided a reason for him not to automatically despise her sister. Betty was having so much fun that he didn't want to bring down the spirit of the evening by talking about his mother but he didn't have a choice. Daniel knew Betty would bring it up eventually and she did because Betty always asked about how his mom was doing.

"My mom got kicked out of another rehab facility." Daniel mentioned casually as if he was talking about the weather or what designer Hudson was going to be featured next month.

"Again, isn't that the fourth facility?" Betty asked frowning. Daniel personally felt like crying.

"Actually, it's the fifth. Nowhere else will take her even with Marisol's connections." The reason why Marisol has been able to get his mom in to every decent rehab program on the East Coast was her cousin happened to be one of the top professionals for addiction recovery in the country. Connections can take you only so far when someone isn't quite ready to get help.

"What are you planning on doing?" Betty asked as she grabbed his hand for support. He needed her comforting touch more than anything at that moment.

"We are trying a different approach involving a private sobriety coach and the chalet in France." At this point he was willing to try anything because he already buried his brother, he can't deal with burying his mother. As soon as he said the words Betty frowned and he knows why.

"When are you leaving?" Her voice is so broken that it tears as hard apart. It's not like he wants to leave her. How did she mean so much to him so quickly? However it happened, she means the world to him but it's his mom and he is conflicted. He wants to be with Betty and yet, he can't let his mom drown.

"Tuesday," he said practically whispering. "You told me that you never had a good Valentine's Day and I want to make sure you have one." Doctor Rodriguez suggested that they leave right away but he wanted to do something nice for Betty. He was also worried about how his mom will deal with another Valentine's Day with her unfaithful husband, considering what the rumor mill (thankfully not the tabloids) has been saying about her Betty deserved a good Valentine's Day. Considering he was leaving for a few months

"You don't have to. Your mom should come first." This is why he loves her because Betty is so selfless. Did he just say the L word? That's when he started choking on his wine. He quickly felt Betty's hand on his back.

"Are you okay?" Betty asked and he wanted to say no because I just realize that I'm completely in love with you but he doesn't say anything mostly because he still coughing. However, he knows it's true. How did this happen? He hasn't been in love since Lucy and this doesn't feel like that. He knew little things about her but not big things. The only reason why he knew how bad Lucy's relationship with her parents really was is because Daniel had the misfortune of overhearing a conversation that he shouldn't have.

With Betty he knew everything, even the real reason that she was hiding in the bathroom a couple weeks ago. It's amazing what Amanda will confess to for a new pair Jimmy Choo. The thought of being pregnant with Wilbur's child would send anybody hiding into the bathroom. That's also why he can just tell how upset she was even if she was trying to smile. It didn't reach her eyes.

"I know but I still want to give you this day. I wish I could stay but I can't and I know you would not want to be with me if I was the type of person who completely ignored my mom at a time like this." Her response was to kiss him.

"I know." Betty said pulling away. She sounded as if she was on the verge of tears.

"Are you sure you can't come?" He asked her again running a finger over hers. He really did need her.

"Thanks to this guy I know I now have an internship at an up-and-coming men's magazine, in addition to a full course load. I cannot exactly take two months off. Also the situation with Walter hasn't been good for my dad's heart and I need to be there for him. But I wish I could." The way she looked at him told Daniel that this was going to be horrible. He really did not want to leave her behind.

They didn't talk about him leaving again that night even after they arrived back at the apartment she was sharing with Jordan. Though, he did wonder if his upcoming departure was the reason why Betty let him sleep in her bed that night.

It made perfect sense to Betty that the day before Daniel was leaving her for an unspecified amount of time that it was a cold dreary rainy mess. Of course, it didn't start pouring until after she got out of the subway and her coat could only help so much. This resulted in her being referred to as a slightly less than fashionable drowned rat by Amanda, who was hiding from Wilhelmina again. About the same she was covered in a nonfat soy latte. Considering Amanda's expression, Betty was not entirely sure it was an accident.

"I know you're not able to dress yourself in the morning without Daniel's help but even this is too much. Really, a latte? You don't need the calories, anyway." Marc said shaking his head. "You're supposed to be going to lunch with Jamie and one of the top photographers in the country in less than 30 minutes at one of the best restaurants in town. You can't look like that." Marc said pulling her to the elevators with Amanda running behind. They ended up in a part of the building that looked like Justin's favorite fantasy. There were designer clothes everywhere. That's when she saw a blonde woman with pins of her mouth working on a dress.

"What are you doing down here Marc? I thought that now that you're no longer the working for vampire I wouldn't see you again." The woman said with a thick Scottish accent.

"As much as I miss your booze soaked company I'm not here for me. This is Jamie's assistant and Daniel's girlfriend Betty who unfortunately can't hold her latte or her umbrella." Marc said with pure sarcasm.

"She was the one who spilled the coffee on me." Betty said pointing to Amanda accusingly as she hid behind a jacket.

"You're Daniel Meade's girlfriend? You don't seem like his normal type." She said looking at her slightly surprised.

"Yes, it's a really shocking choice because she can strain a sentence together. Her and Daniel met in and their grief support group." Marc said repeating the away on a legal in Maryland and no lie. "They both have an affinity for sending each other naked pictures. I really did not need to see that." The seamstress just gave Marc a strange look. She wanted to hide under the rack of clothing herself. How exactly did Marc see that picture?

"It was a really good picture and her coconuts are huge. You have to be at least the D." Amanda said actually grabbing one of her breasts before Betty could move away.

"We don't have time for this. Betty has a meeting with Jamie in 25 minutes with a very temperamental photographer who is only doing the April cover shoot because Jamie's special intern is from the old neighborhood. She needs to look presentable and we don't exactly have anything in the Hudson closet that will work." Marc said with annoyance.

"I don't know, she might look good in a men's suit jacket? Daniel will probably find that really sexy and there are a lot of things she could do with the tie." Marc just closed his eyes for a moment as Betty blushed.

"Can you help or not?" Marc said giving her his 'I'm so bored' expression.

Just then an angry woman walked in the room. She yelled at the woman known as Christina, insulted Amanda before making her leave and called Marc a traitor which resulted in him pulling out his inhaler.

"Who was that?" Betty asked as she directed Marc to one of the couches. She was worried about him having another stress-induced asthma attack.

"The Devil's understudy and Marc's former boss, Wilhelmina. Satan herself is most likely unconscious in her office. She hasn't been handling the fact that…" The woman stopped speaking at that moment.

"I know that Daniel's father was sleeping with Faye Somers." Betty said instantly realizing why she stopped speaking.

"Lay off Willie, this is a bad day for her too because of what's going on with Nico's dad." Marc said defensively. "The Faye Somers thing is not a big deal. Everybody but Daniel knew that his father was sleeping with Faye Somers since you were getting your fashion advice from Punky Brewster. Sometimes I think you still are. Bright patterns just don't work for you. There was a reason why that idiot put your resume in the round filing cabinet despite your qualifications." She hated when Marc brought that up.

"She can wear whatever the hell she wants. Lucky for you, I have something from the spring collection that may fit. Christine said going to closet to pick out a beautiful spring draws in various shades of pink.

"Not exactly business appropriate but she looks good in coral and this is a business lunch." Marc said please.

Five minutes later Marc was gone she was standing in the middle of the room as the seamstress was trying to make the dress work.

"You seem too nice to be one of them although I heard Hudson's not as bad." Christina said as she used two sided tape to take up the hem. Betty didn't respond because she wasn't completely sure what to say. Thankfully she was saved by Daniel popping in. He stared at her with wide-open shock.

"Marc said you had an incident with a latte but you look- breathtaking." Daniel said kissing her in a way that will most likely mess up her hair even more than what it already was.

"We said we would not do this sort of thing at work anymore after Marc told everyone about the incident in your office." Betty said pulling away from him even though she enjoyed the touch of his lips.

"No you said we wouldn't do that anymore and were not doing that technically. It's okay. I doubt Christina is a member of the Mode rumor mill. If she was, everybody would know the devil of Mode's real dress size." Daniel quipped.

"Nobody would believe me. Off you go to the business lunch Cinderella." Christina said pulling away.

"Thank you. I promise to bring this back afterwards." Betty said quickly.

"Don't worry about it it was the wrong size from mode." You really look good." Daniel said as he pulled her behind a rack of clothing for another kiss.

"I have to get back. I'm sure the car will be leaving any minute." Even though she enjoyed making out with Daniel she knew she had a job to do.

"Actually, I'm taking the lunch and the reservations were pushed back to 2:30 because his plane was delayed due to the weather." Daniel told her making his I'm not telling you something face.

"Why? The guy hates your entire family." She had to listen to a very long tirade against the late Alex Meade and she talked to him on the phone Thursday to set up the meeting. Despite how much Daniel loved his brother, the man was far from perfect and she was starting to wonder if that's what killed him in the end. She met Bradford Meade for a grand total of 30 seconds at Hudson's fashion show and she could instantly tell that he demanded perfection from everyone.

"I'm trying to convince everyone that I'm not my brother or my father. Also Jamie has a 3 o'clock with John-Shawn and can't do the meeting. Jamie does want me to take a more active role when I come back and I promise you I'm coming back." Part of her wonders if he's talking about Hudson or her. Maybe there is some part of her that thinks he's not. Despite spending almost the entire weekend with Daniel she wasn't ready for goodbye. She just wanted to make this day last as long as possible and getting to spend one extra lunch with Daniel would be wonderful.

"Besides it's not fair that Jamie gets to show you off. You are the most beautiful woman in the world." The way he kissed her made her almost believed that and she could forget that he was leaving her for a little while.

A couple weeks ago Betty told him about her abysmal dating and Valentine's Day history. The worst was 10th grade when the star basketball player asked her out to the Valentine's Day dance only to pretty much humiliate her in front of the entire school. It was made worse by the fact he made out with her arch nemesis Cammy or Kimberly or whatever in front of her. There was also another Valentine's Day where she was the only kid in the class who didn't get a single Valentines card (that celebrated the holiday). Considering he was leaving the next day until at least mid-April he wanted to make sure she had one good Valentine's Day. He went so far as to enlist the help of Jordan, Jamie, Justin, Amanda, and Christina. (Okay he wasn't planning on using Amanda originally but he needed to find someone to help get Betty into the dress and Christina was willing to help just for the mere fact that his new girlfriend was not a size -2.)

Of course, it was all falling apart. The two dozen roses that were supposed to be delivered to her in the middle of her Junior English class ended up being delivered to the wrong Betty in the wrong Junior English class because apparently there are lots of Betty Suarezs at Queens College. He was just glad that Jamie talked him out of including anything obscene in the card.

He actually went to the trouble of going to Tiffany's himself to pick out a necklace that fit Betty perfectly. Unfortunately, a picture of that was currently on Page 6 this morning. The first time he's been in the tabloids in weeks and they got the story all wrong. Apparently, he was going ring shopping for his ministry girlfriend who most people suspected was his brother's sort of widow because she has been the only one that he's been photographed with in the last six weeks. He personally thinks it's hilarious that everybody has seen him with Betty and yet no one has reached the right conclusion outside of Hudson (except for Amanda). They were together all the time at Fashion Week.

Of course Betty's sister believed the tabloid reports and he had to deal with her showing up this morning to his office and threatening him with castration if he broke Betty's heart. She only backed off when he showed her the locket that he got Betty with a picture of their mother inside. (Justin was kind enough to provide the picture.) Daniel sincerely hoped that gesture will convince Hilda that he's not just interested in Betty as a quick fuck. Okay, he had to tell Hilda his entire plan for the day complete with carriage ride that will no longer be happening due to the horrible weather.

Of course, he didn't want to run the risk of Betty seeing her sister right now because they were still not on very good terms which was why he asked Amanda to distract Betty and get her changed for their lunch date. Of course, he wasn't expecting Amanda to pour coffee over her and Marc intervening to make sure Betty was 'business' lunch presentable.

Christina did a good job modifying the dress that he picked out for Betty (with Justin's help). She looked good. Actually, that word was inadequate to describe how beautiful she was at that moment. He wasn't exactly sure how he was going to get on the plane tomorrow.

He convinced Jamie to pretend to schedule a meeting where he was taking Betty, only for Daniel to take her out for lunch so they could begin their Valentine's Day date as soon as possible. Of course, he wasn't expecting Marc Amanda and Betty's sister to crash said lunch. He's not sure if they teamed up to purposely to make him miserable or if this was some random accident. He was most annoyed with Marc because the man knew that this was supposed to be a lunch date with Betty and not an actual business meeting because he made the reservations. Unfortunately, he used the excuse of telling her that the guy's plane still being delayed and therefore he had to cancel at the last minute. Being super nice she allowed a three to stay. He personally considered it a small miracle that Betty didn't ask what her sister was doing with the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of Meade publications. Though, that may be because he was distracting her with the placement of his hand under the hem of her skirt.

Daniel was pretty sure Hilda was going to stab him with a butter knife when Amanda told her about the incident in his office when Betty first started working there. Actually she also kind of looked like she was going to stab him with the butter knife when she found out about him spending the next few months in Paris. At least she did until she found out why he was staying in Paris. Apparently, taking care of an ill mother is enough to get him bonus points or for her to at least to stop glaring at him. He was sure that she would like him if she actually got to know him but Daniel did not think that was going to happened anytime soon.

To keep Betty from being pulled away from him by the others, he may have poured an entire bottle of wine on her. Because he only lived a couple of blocks away he brought her to his house to change. Though, Hilda kind of winked at him. That may be the closest thing to approval that he was ever going to get from her.

"Maybe we should have just gone the Jordan's apartment. I'd doubt you have anything that will fit me." Betty said fidgeting. It was kind of cute.

"Actually Jordan dropped off a bag this morning." He said putting his key in the lock. Of course, he's pretty sure that the black silk lace panties and the industrial sized box of condoms included were not bought by Betty herself.

"What?" Betty asked as she obviously saw that his apartment was filled with red flowers.

"Since this is our last day together until I get back I planed the perfect Valentine's Day for you. You were supposed to receive flowers at school but apparently the delivery person got confused and gave your roses to the wrong Betty Suarez." He said sheepishly. "Those are the backup roses."

"There are three at my school. I'm Betty Rosa Suarez." He couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Well some other Betty Suarez got your roses. Also, even if you're willing to pay triple the normal fee; you can't do a horse drawn carriage ride in Central Park with torrential rain." He quipped

"I always wanted to do that." She looks slightly disappointed.

"Justin told me. He said it was on page 52 of your diary. We can try to do it for your birthday." He said giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I really can't keep anything from my nephew." Betty said blushing and shaking her head.

"Not really. It's amazing what he will spill for designer labels." He joked again.

"Was my sister in on this too, because it's kind of suspicious that she ended up at the restaurant? Was that supposed to be a date?" Okay, Betty did pick up on how clear that was.

"Yes, you never had a meeting with the photographer guy or at least you did not. They were at a restaurant on the other side of the city. Your sister was there because she made me tell her everything after she threatened me with castration. I have no explanation for Marc and Amanda whatsoever."

"Do I want to know why she came to see you?" Betty asked raising an eyebrow.

"She believes things in the tabloids a little too well". Betty's response was to sigh.

"I knew we should have never told her you are that Daniel Meade. What were they saying on page 6 this time?"

"Apparently, I'm going ring shopping because I'm planning on marrying my dead brother's former girlfriend." Betty laughed as he pulled out the jewelry box from his pocket. "Happy Valentine's Day." Daniel said handing her the trademark Tiffany box.

"You didn't actually go ring shopping?" She asked slightly bewildered.

"No, of course not." He said blushing. So he may have looked at the ring section a little bit but she was 20 and Betty flat out told him that the M word was off the table for a while. However, considering she was smiling Daniel is sure he made the right choice.

"This is perfect." Betty said as she lifted the necklace out of the box and saw the picture inside. That's when tears started to fall.

"I told you would have the best Valentine's Day ever. Even with everything going on. We have the rest of the night."

"Unfortunately, it's just tonight." Betty said with a sad smile.

"We'll just have to make it count." He said kissing her once more. Eventually, her wine soaked dress made it onto the floor along with the white snow person panties. He kissed every single inch of her body as if to memorize the curves that he would miss terribly in the coming weeks. Daniel also made very good use of the sensual body massage oil as he traced every inch of her skin and she eventually did the same for him.

Part of him wanted to go further than that so he decided to save that for Betty's 21st birthday. Because he knew Betty was afraid of ending up like her sister they agreed not to have penetrated sex (because let's be honest, what they were already doing was sex, even if it really wasn't) until she was on the pill or something similar. The night really did go perfectly or at least it did until the smell of dinner caused Betty to throw up on his carpet. He blamed all the wine.

To be continued

If you think you have an idea of what I'm planning to do drop me a PM.


	8. All Good Things

Thank you to everyone who read or reviewed the last chapter. Some of you are brilliant and have an inkling of what I'm planning. Those of you who are scared of where things are going don't worry we will have a Daniel Betty happy ending (it just may take us 100,000 words to get there).

This was supposed to be a longer chapter but I wanted Betty and Daniel's goodbye to be unspoiled by the drama that's coming next. There will be drama. This is Ugly Betty, so expect nothing less.

Chapter 8: All Good Things...

* * *

Over the last couple of weeks, Betty has adapted to limousine rides and spending quality time in Daniel's town car almost as if she was a princess. Yet on this morning, she couldn't help but feel like Cinderella waiting for her carriage to turn back into a pumpkin. This last month has been something like a fairytale, complete with beautiful dresses and her almost carriage ride. She never thought that she would have a boyfriend who really cared about her to the point that he hung out with her nephew and tried to pacify her sister. Daniel even defended her from the idiots at Meade publications who said asinine things. Betty did not necessarily need him to defend her, because she was used to being bullied, but it was nice not to have to put up with the insults alone.

Now she was scared that this fairytale was about to end. Daniel would be getting on a plane in a few hours and she just couldn't help but feel that her metaphorical clock was going to strike midnight and she would be back to her pre-Daniel life with a boyfriend who didn't appreciate her (i.e. he only wanted her for sex) and a job cleaning up cat urine. She just had the sick feeling that once Daniel was away from her the spell would be broken and he would realize that he didn't belong with ayou are evil and all girl like her from Queens who could only afford to go to college because she got a scholarship.

The fact that she felt like she would vomit at any moment on the way to her 9 AM class today did not make the situation any better. (Actually, she already did 10 minutes earlier and once really early this morning on Mrs. Meade's shoes). Because Daniel was not sick from their gourmet dinner she assumed it was nerves or possibly his cologne. (She hoped it was just nervousness despite what Mrs. Meade said when she threw up on her.)

"You getting sick was not what I envisioned when I planned out the perfect Valentine's Day. I'm sorry. I'm never ordering from that restaurant again." Daniel said handing her a soda that the driver just got for her from a nearby store. She already used the mouthwash from Daniel's carry-on bag. Did she mention that he was dropping her off at school on the way to the airport? They were only about 15 minutes from Queens College at this point. Due to the events of last night or rather this morning she was kind of happy that Mrs. Meade would be arriving at the airport in a different car with her sobriety coach Marcy. Marcy was kind enough to retrieve Mrs. Meade this morning after the events of earlier.

"It's okay. This was still better than last year despite your mom showing up this morning and me getting sick all over her shoes." Daniel frowned when she said that most likely remembering her story about the guy who asked her out just so she would write his essay for him last year. "I don't think it's the restaurant, anyway. You ate the same thing and you're not sick. Also, I did throw up before taking the first bite of food the first time." She said taking a drink hoping that her stomach would be settled by the time she arrived on campus. She would hate to think of the type of rumors that would start if she got sick in class.

"Good point. Also, I'm sorry about what my mother said after you got sick on her shoes. She didn't mean it and she really does like you anyway." Daniel said looking slightly embarrassed. She was shocked that Daniel could blush considering the things he did to her before the sudden onset of nausea. (Even though it made her blush to think it, she is really going to miss his tongue.)

Claire Meade showed up at Daniel's apartment at 3:33 AM 'slightly' drunk and wearing a designer trench coat and nothing else. She was ranting about deceased children, bastard husbands, and lost babies in South Dakota. Betty's response was to promptly regurgitate on her shoes, which probably cost more than Betty's tuition last semester. Mrs. Meade's response was, "Daniel, I thought you had better manners than this. You should've introduced me to your new girlfriend before you got her pregnant." Daniel tried to explain that it wasn't like that yet, but it was hard for Mrs. Meade to believe that considering that she was wearing one of Daniel's dress shirts. (For some reason said dress shirt was now crumpled in Betty's overnight bag.) In her defense, Daniel's dress shirt covered more than the black lace lingerie that Jordan gave her to sleep in.

"It's okay." Betty said blushing again. The encountered just made her slightly embarrassed (and made her a little worried about the Walter thing). Considering Mrs. Meade actually liked her, despite what happened, Betty is not going to let this worry her. They had a really good conversation once the coffee kicked in before Marcy came. "She was…"

"Completely drunk." Daniel finished for her when Betty was unable to come up with a polite way to say that. She just nodded her head in agreement.

"I'm well aware that my mom is an alcoholic and Valentine's Day is just bad for anyone who has a dead son and philandering husband." Daniel said with bitterness.

Daniel was mostly okay with Alex's death now or about as okay as you can be a month and a half after your brother commit suicide. He can at least now talk about the man without his eyes glazing over. The situation with Bradford was still bad. Part of her hoped that Daniel's time in Europe will give him time to let go of his anger but Betty wasn't sure a reconciliation was possible. Daniel still held the man solely responsible for Alex's death.

"That's why I wasn't offended." Betty said squeezing his hand. "She meant nothing by it. She was just joking. It couldn't be true because I was really careful with Walter and it is not like I can actually be pregnant with your child." Daniel's eyes got wide for a moment but he didn't say anything. She was glad for that. Even though she use spermicide and condoms with Walter she was still scared, which is why she's been so cautious with Daniel. This was kind of stupid because she is sure Daniel actually likes her for reasons beyond sex, she's just not sure why.

"I'm just nervous." She said after a moment.

"Big test today?" He asked jokingly.

"I hope not considering I spent most of the last three days not studying." Betty said with a yawn. Between her Valentine's Day activities with Daniel, getting sick, and keeping Mrs. Meade occupied this morning before her sobriety coach showed up Betty managed to get a grand total of two hours of sleep. She wondered if Jamie would be mad if she took a nap instead of actually working this afternoon. She was exhausted and she could legitimately call in sick because she was sick. Daniel did suggest that she stay home three times but she could not afford to miss class.

"You're leaving today and…" Betty started but she wasn't sure how to finish that thought. How exactly do you articulate that you feel like this is all a dream that you will probably wake up from at any moment?

"You're afraid I'm not going to come back to you?" Daniel said it as a question. He really did know her.

"Yes. I mean I still don't understand what you see in me. My coworkers are kidnapping me to get good braces. Marc said the only reason why he hasn't started a fashion disaster blog about me was because you threatened him with certain career death if he made fun of me again." Daniel actually smirked at her comment. Why did she have the feeling that Marc wasn't exaggerating?

"I didn't take it that far. Also, you are now dressing a lot more professional and you only have 'I just got fucked' hair after actual sexual activity." That made her blush.

"Is 'professional' a code word for 'fashionable'?" Betty said ignoring his more sexually charged comment.

"In the industry we work in, yes. Fortunately, you only work at a kind of men's fashion magazine. I don't think we are as bad as the devil that wears Dolce and Gabbana." Daniel joked as he placed a kiss on her forehead.

"If it wasn't for my nephew I would have no idea what you were talking about. Part of me thinks that my carriage is going to be a pumpkin again the moment you get on that plane. Maybe this is just some reaction to…" Betty was cut off by his lips, making her very thankful that she used the mouthwash earlier.

* * *

She tasted like his mouthwash, which makes sense considering she used an entire travel size bottle after they had to pull over 20 minutes ago. He wanted to stay home sick with her but she was pretty much forcing him to get on the plane today even though he really didn't want to. He wanted to memorize everything about this kiss because he already knew they were a mere two minutes away from Queens College and he would have to let her go until at least April. (At least, he hoped it was just April.)

"Don't listen to stupid people. I'm not using you as an Alex replacement or as a means to get over him. I don't know how many times I need to repeat this but I'm with you because you're you, crooked teeth and all." She exhaled in relief at his words.

Daniel could understand her fear because he was scared too. He was afraid that she would not want him anymore when he came back from France. Daniel was already pretty sure that there would not be anyone else. He was more afraid that she wouldn't want him. It wasn't easy being Daniel Meade's girlfriend. The incident yesterday with her sister freaking out because of inaccurate tabloid speculation illustrated that. They have managed to avoid the paparazzi so far but that wouldn't last much longer. He considers it a miracle that they haven't figured out who Betty was to him yet. He didn't want them to hurt her. He didn't want this to all fall apart because he…

"I love you." The words were out of his mouth before he even realized they were out there. Really, he thought he was just saying that in his head but Betty's physical reaction told him that was not the case.

"No you don't, but thanks for saying it." He's sure he's heard that line somewhere before but said nothing about that. She made it sound as if she were joking. "Don't say things you don't mean just because you're going away." Now he could hear the hurt in her voice.

"I meant it." Daniel said in a whisper, as the car pulled into the parking lot closest to Betty's 9 o'clock class. "I've never said those words lightly. Although, I know a lot of guys do." He wondered for a moment if Walter ever said those words to her for the sole purpose of getting her into his bed.

"Because you're brilliant smile can get girls into your bed with much less effort." She said trying to joke but her eyes told him that she wasn't into it.

"But not into my heart. I would never let any of these girls in my heart but you're already there. How you got there, I'm not sure. I've spent years trying to keep everyone out and yet somehow you managed to look past my man-whore image and see me. No one has really seen me before. That makes saying goodbyes so hard. I'm not 100% sure I can live without you right now. I don't want to leave mostly because you won't ask me to stay even though you really want to. You're too good for me." He was rambling.

"I don't want you to leave but I know you have to. Your mom is a mess and everything," Betty said now on the verge of tears. "You're kind of like the best friend I've ever had." Now she was crying.

"But with make out privileges." He joked trying to cheer her up.

"Is it weird that I just like spending time with you more than the make out privileges?" She asked half smiling despite the tears.

"I kind of like that too," he told her as he breathed in the scent of her shampoo. He just held her for a few moments despite the fact that he was going to make her late for class.

"I have to leave." Betty said choking back a sob. He wanted to cry too.

"I know," He whispered. His heart was in his stomach. Actually, he felt like he was going to throw up at any moment. Maybe the dinner was bad the night before.

"I'll call you before my plane leaves." He said not sure what else to say.

"Okay." Betty whispered as she kissed him one more time. It seemed to last forever but reluctantly she pulled away. For a moment, he thought he heard her say 'I love you' too but his mind was obviously playing tricks on him. It was purely wishful thinking on his part. He sat inside the car as he watched her disappear into one of the many buildings on campus. If anyone asked him later he would completely deny the fact that he cried almost the entire way to the airport even if he did send her text message.

To be continued

Enjoy the last few fluffy moments in this chapter because things are about to get 'bumpy'. Just remembered this will be with a happy ending.


	9. I Did Not See This Coming

Thank you to everybody who read or reviewed the last chapter. I apologize for the long lag between updates. I had been trying to focus on finishing Starfleet Family Values before my self-imposed deadline of May 17 and I had been pushing all other stories and new ideas to the back burner. However, I'm still a good three chapters from being done and I am now well aware I will not make the deadline without sacrificing the quality of that story, updates on this story, and the cleanliness of my apartment. Therefore, I decided to give myself a one-month extension and provide you guys with an update before the digital pitchforks are brought out. Once I'm done with Starfleet family Values, I'll try to go back to updating twice a month.

This chapter takes place about 10 days after the last one.

* * *

Chapter 9: I Did Not See This Coming, But Apparently, Everyone Else Did.

"How is Paris?" Betty asked with a yawn as soon as she answered her blackberry. She knew it was Daniel because he was the only one who had this number that would call her at 4 AM because he completely forgot about the time difference. She has had a lot of 4 AM calls lately but it was worth it to talk to Daniel. Although, Jordan was rather mad at her and Daniel for all the late night phone calls, especially because she now had to wake up super early to meet with her trainer practically every morning.

"Paris is Paris. It is a beautiful city but I have not seen that much of it outside of several ordinary conference rooms. Those look the same in any country. I wish I was here under better circumstances." Daniel told her sadly. According to the last exchange of text messages, Bradford was making Daniel do his dirty work at Mode Paris. He was currently there to replace the old EIC with the creative director and replace the creative director with her number two.

"I wish you were here with me." He has repeated that sentiment to her 25 times since he got on the plane the day after Valentine's Day.

"I wish I was there too but then I wouldn't have gotten a perfect score on my media exam and my last essay for Junior English. Also I got to meet Leonardo DiCaprio last week." She told him excitedly. Although working at Hudson was cutting into her study time, she was getting a lot of experience that seemed more valuable than what she was learning in class. It definitely gave her some good material for her essay. Also, did she mention she got to meet Leonardo DiCaprio?

"You're so cute when you're a fan girl. I'm glad that you're doing well in classes. I would suggest phone sex to celebrate but my mom is in the next room." Betty just rolled her eyes.

"It is good to know that you have some shame." Betty said jokingly. "How is your mom doing?" Betty asked with genuine concern.

She liked Mrs. Meade. They have talked on the phone a few times and she was always nice to Betty. She did keep asking Betty about her morning sickness and if she had gone to see a gynecologist yet. She kept on telling the woman that she was not pregnant but Mrs. Meade would not believe her.

"Well she's not doing Jell-O shots off of random strangers." Daniel said with a sigh.

"It's that bad?"

"I forgot to tell you what happened when dad called a couple of days ago. It was bad. They got into some horrible shouting match where Bradford mentioned South Dakota and mom brought up how he was responsible for Alex's suicide as well as how she found out about it. She managed to finish off an entire bottle from the chalet's extensive wine collection before Marcy and I could stop her. She has been sober ever sense but that was probably because dad has not called back since that incident. I know a part of him loves her in some way..." Daniel started but he did not finish.

"But you don't think that he loves her enough?" Betty asked him in almost a whisper.

"I don't know what to think. Why does he keep cheating on her if he supposedly loves her? Why did they get married if he cannot keep it in his pants at all?" It was obvious to Betty that Daniel has been thinking about this for a very long time.

"I don't really know Daniel." Betty said sadly.

"Sometimes I think it would be better if she left him. She's the only family I have left that actually cares about me and I don't want to lose her to this." Daniel told her with shaky breath, making Betty realize how hard it was for him to suggest something like that.

"Have you asked her why she stayed?" Betty asked after a moment.

"Not until recently. Other than you, there was not much to talk about when you're trying to avoid all conversations related to the suicide of a family member. I guess it's a bad sign when talking about your adulterous father is the easier conversation." Daniel said only half joking.

"What was her answer?"

"She really didn't answer. She just started talking about South Dakota and my dad's old friend Hartley or someone that has not been by in decades. Maybe I should not have asked her this question after the wine cellar incident. Later on when she was a little more sober mom said it was because she loved him." Betty wondered if Mrs. Meade really did use the past tense when describing her feelings for her husband.

"After everything he's done to her, I am not sure how that can even be possible. I just think it was easier for her to stay." Daniel sounded so heartbroken at that moment that she wished she could have hugged him. Unfortunately, Betty knew all too well what Mrs. Meade was feeling because of the Walter situation.

"I didn't love Walter but I thought I did at the time. Sometimes, I think I stayed with him as long as I did because I did not think I could do better. I did not see myself as being lovable. I wonder if your mother feels the same way." She told him honestly.

"You're very lovable. I wish you were here so I can tell you how lovable I find you. Now I am completely up for phone sex right now even if the thought of doing something like that with my mom next door freaks me out just to prove that I find you extremely lovable and sexy." Daniel said using his guaranteed to get your panties off in 30 seconds or less voice. If he were not in another country, said underwear would be off. Daniel Meade was a bad influence on her.

"I take back what I said earlier about you having shame." Betty said shaking her head.

"I'm just trying to prove that you are very lovable." She was sure he was smirking as he said this to her. "Amanda did say something about getting you a present that could be used for such an occasion." Said gift was a pink vibrator that was hidden in Betty's sock door.

"Yes, I got her gift and no I don't want to talk about it or use it right now or ever." Betty said harshly because she was sure that particular gift really came from Daniel.

"Okay no more talk about vibrators or doing anything with that vibrator, since your screams will probably just wake up Jordan." Daniel joked.

"Considering how thin the walls are, it's possible. I know Jamie was over last night." At least this time she mostly heard giggling and not her roommates screaming for a good reason.

"Are they still…" Daniel started to ask but obviously couldn't come up with a polite way to do so.

"I don't know. I didn't hear those types of noises last night and Jamie is sleeping on the couch, which is why I'm trying to be very quiet." Betty said whispering. She really did not want to wake up her boss on the couch.

"I guess that's progress." Daniel's voice sounded as if he wasn't so sure.

"Jordan has been sober for four days." Betty said trying to keep the skepticism out of her voice.

"Has anybody convinced her to go to AA yet?" Daniel asked with concern. They were all worried about Jordan's drinking problem.

"She doesn't think she's that bad." It was more like Jordan feels like she cannot go to AA because she cannot be honest about the reason why she was drinking so much due to the confidentiality agreement. Of course, Betty wouldn't say this because Daniel had enough reasons to hate his father right now.

"I think something else is going on." Betty believed that it was not her place to mention the absence of tampons in the trash when there should be some and the very strange conversations she has overheard between Jordan and Jamie. Betty will not mention anything about her suspicions until Jordan said something to confirm it. The way things were going, she was going to have to give Jordan the pregnancy test that she got from Amanda.

"How is Jamie doing? I don't trust him to tell me the truth." Betty laughed at that.

"Okay. He is seeing a therapist that is making him write letters to Alex." Betty said before explaining the entire thing.

"It's still better than Jordan's coping mechanism." Daniel said sarcastically. Neither said, "Anything would be better than Jordan's coping strategy."

"He's really throwing himself into the magazine. I think he is doing it to get back at your father for unknown reasons, now that he was starting to hate Ms. Somers a little less." Betty told him without explaining why because even she didn't understand how the animosity had decrease so much in the last few days unless the rumor mill really was right.

"Is he still oblivious to Marc? The guy has a humongous crush on Jamie." Daniel actually giggled as he spoke.

"Yes, only because he's not as overt about it. Now if he was trying to sit on Jamie's lap like Amanda does on a regular basis maybe he would get a clue." Daniel laughed at that.

"How is Amanda doing?" How are things with the devil's assistant? I haven't really talked to her since I helped her pick out her present for you." She knew he was responsible for that. In their last conversation she told Daniel about Wilhelmina causing Amanda to cry hysterically after a little incident where Amanda accidentally let everyone (i.e. the press) know that Wilhelmina had a daughter who was a high school freshman.

"Only because Wilhelmina is in Zürich this week and Amanda is now working directly for Ms. Somers." Betty explained.

"She didn't give Marisol to the wolves? I can't stand the woman because of what she did to my mom but she's easier to work with them Wilhelmina." Daniel said in a way that almost sounded complementary.

"If it makes you feel better, according to Amanda, it wasn't Ms. Somers who told your mom about Alex."

"Of course it was. She said it was my dad's mistress that called her. It has to be Faye unless my father was sleeping with someone else." That was when Daniel became quiet as he obviously got it. "Oh great, he probably was." Daniel's disappointment was audible.

"According to Amanda, there was another reason why Ms. Somers old assistant was fired and she broke up with your father." Betty told him sheepishly leaving out some of the more inappropriate details that Betty never wanted to know about her boyfriend's father's sex life.

"You cannot always trust the rumor mill. According to the Meade rumor mill, I have a half-brother in South Dakota." Betty was sure she heard some dishes fall in the background but she wasn't so sure. It was too early for her to think coherently.

"You're right." Betty said yawning.

"Am I boring you?" Daniel asked her with his lost puppy dog voice.

"No, I'm just getting sleepy. Hey did you visit Lucy yet?" She decided to ask this question before she fell asleep knowing Daniel would be putting it off. A couple of days ago, Daniel ran into Lucy's best friend Claudette at Mode Paris and she agreed to help Daniel get closure on the situation. Okay, it was Marcy that forced the issue but whatever worked.

"We are going today after another business meeting from hell. Hey, I just realize that it's 4:23 AM where you are and you have to get up for class in two hours. I'll call you in a few hours." Betty knew he was purposely trying not to talk about the Lucy thing but she was half-asleep and so she didn't say anything but good night.

* * *

Claire Meade seriously wondered whose brilliant idea it was to send her to the city of Vineyards with a sobriety coach to stop drinking. The smell of wine permeated the air and she has yet to find a restaurant where she couldn't get a drink if she were allowed to drink. Half of the basement in the house where they were staying was actually a wine cellar. (They were not staying at Alex's former Château because if they did she would just move into the wine cellar and never leave).

Therefore, Claire considered it a hard-fought miracle that she hasn't touched a drop of alcohol since the unfortunate conversation with her husband where she discovered that Somers' former assistant wasn't calling on behalf of Faye when she called to tell her exactly what happened to Alex but rather she was hurting Claire for her own purposes, most likely to get herself her own rich husband. It turns out Bradford was also screwing her until he found out he couldn't trust her and Faye Somers had the balls to do something Claire never did, she broke up with him. It was only appropriate that this discovery sent her straight to the wine cellar. (Actually, it was Bradford bringing up her indiscretion with Cal Hartley to justify his behavior with Faye and her treacherous former assistant was what pushed her over the edge.)

Bradford has called her several times to apologize for his outburst but she can't bring herself to pick up the phone or open the expensive gifts that kept arriving at the door. She cannot listen to his apologies because Claire did not know if forgiveness was an option anymore. Thanks to the bitch that he used to sleep with, she knew exactly how Bradford was responsible for Alex's death. That was a sin greater than adultery.

How could he say such cruel things to their child? If Alex wanted to run around in dresses and wear lipstick, she wouldn't give a fuck. She just wanted her child back even if he wanted to be her daughter. She rather have a live daughter than a dead son.

She has always been able to forgive Bradford for sleeping around on her because she knows what it's like to be weak. She remembered her indiscretion with Cal Hartley all too well. The flesh is weak and it is easy to be seduced by a pretty face and beautiful promises. If Bradford could forgive her for that, she could forgive him for sleeping around with Faye Somers and whomever else he was screwing around with. ('But did he really forgive you? He mentions it all the time,' a voice in her mind questioned, that sounded suspiciously like that same voice that was telling her to add a shot of vodka or 5 to her orange juice.)

This was different. His words killed their son and she was not sure she can ever forgive him for that. How could she? She can't even bear to look at him right now. Even though she loved Bradford, she fucking hates him too. So even though she surrounded by temptation at every turn it was better than being in New York and having to sit across the breakfast table from the man who killed her oldest child.

She wanted to drink. She wanted to get lost in the alcohol and forget about her dead son and asshole husband responsible for his suicide. The only thing stopping her right now was Daniel and her sobriety coach.

She hated rehab in general because it never did her any good. How can someone help her with her drinking problem when they did not know what it was like? How can they preach to her about resisting the temptation when they have never been tempted? When they have never had to deal with the world falling down around them and feel like her only salvation comes in a bottle that will make everything fall away?

Marcy was different. The first thing she told her when she led Claire out of Daniel's apartment was, "if you want to drink there is nothing I can do to stop you. However, if you don't want to die, and possibly take others down with you, than I suggest you find a reason not to drink. I almost ended up like you until I realized I didn't want my other child to end up without a mother."

Even though those words did not quite sink in at the time they did later on when she realized that Marcy wasn't like all the other doctors that she's dealt with. Not only was she a recovering addict, but unfortunately Marcy knew what it was like to bury a child. 12 years ago Marcy was out walking with her five-year-old daughter when they were hit by a drunk driver. She survived with several broken bones and a good year of physical therapy. Her daughter did not. Marcy's best friend became her oxycodone. When she was high she didn't have to think about her dead five-year-old. For two years, she was lost in the drugs until her 16-year-old daughter found her unconscious in the bathroom. Marcy has been clean for 10 years and helping others like Claire for the last seven. Marcy said her reason for staying clean was she didn't want her daughter to find her in the bathroom again only this time she really was dead. Of course, Claire did not know about this story until after the wine cellar incident. It was the main reason why she hasn't gone back because if Marcy can deal with everything without going back to the pills, she can deal with this without going to the bottle.

The other reason was Daniel and the fact that she didn't want him to find her in the metaphorical bathroom. Two months ago, she didn't think her youngest son cared about anything but partying and getting laid. She now knows that her son loves her otherwise he wouldn't keep sending her back to rehab or giving up quality time with his girlfriend to help her deal with this in France (the fact that Daniel actually had a girlfriend was slightly shocking).

She would like to blame the catastrophe that was Alex's suicide for the changes that she has seen in her son, like Daniel's willingness to play Scrabble with her when he can easily be at the best clubs in Paris. However, Claire Meade knew that it was the petite Hispanic woman that she met a week and a half ago was responsible for the new Daniel Meade.

Daniel's usual flavor of the night would have either left the moment she crashed there evening or would have demanded that Daniel get rid of her as quickly as possible. Those women would not sit down and have coffee with Claire as she talked about her job at Hudson and her class schedule, but Betty did. In the last few days, she has even talk to her on the phone and Betty always asked Daniel about how she was doing.

Her memory of their initial encounter may be hazy but Betty only blushed slightly when she realized that Claire was only wearing a trench coat and quickly went over to Daniel's closet to get her a set of workout attire. Overall, it was a pleasant experience despite the fact that the young woman threw up on her shoes. (Claire was 100% sure that Daniel already got her pregnant despite what they say otherwise because the particular cologne that Daniel now wears made her vomit up every single time she smelled it when she was pregnant with him. The fact that the girl was still throwing up a week and a half later confirmed this. Of course, nobody listens to an old drunk like her.)

In regards to this girl, Claire saw her son behave in a way completely different than he normally does. First, he actually knew this girl's name. He also called her the next morning. Actually, Daniel has called her every morning, even if he hasn't figured out that he was calling her in the middle of the night. Her son has never been good with figuring out time zone differences. He also knew about Betty's life from the trouble she was having with her horrid ex-boyfriend to the fact that her mother died only a few months earlier. Again, Daniel actually talks to this girl instead of merely using her as a means to get off. During Marcy enforced board game bonding time the only thing Daniel talks about is Betty. Despite the fact that Daniel is dealing with Alex's affairs in Europe her son actually seems happy. She knows Betty Suarez is responsible.

In one of these conversations he mentioned how hard Betty's mom's death was on the girl and how he did not want to go through that. She can't help but wonder if that's why Daniel was playing Monopoly with her even if he despised the game.

Actually, Betty made her son act like a grown-up or rather because Daniel cares about her, so he wanted to act like a grown-up. The old Daniel would have been spending his trust fund in Tahiti right now. The new Daniel was doing Bradford's dirty work of installing a new EIC at Mode Paris. They were surrounded by French models for most of the day and yet Daniel focused on the business at hand. Claire believed that Daniel was finally applying himself because Betty can see the real potential in Daniel. He may not have Bradford or Alex's killer instincts for business but he knew how to work with people and listen to what was needed and that was half the battle. Claire was proud of him.

However, the most telling was the way Daniel looked at this Betty girl. Despite the fact that she really needed to see a dentist and her glasses were held together by Scotch tape and a prayer, Daniel looked at her as if she was the most beautiful girl in the world. Claire has never seen a man look at a woman like that, not even her husband before he started sleeping around. She already knew it was love (although, that was mostly because her son has been celibate since arriving to the city of lights).

She was a little surprised, as Daniel really has not had an actual girlfriend since the mid-90s during the summer he lived in Paris with Alex. She was not a very good one, considering Claire was almost positive that she slept with Alex, in light of a certain phone call she received from a very guilty son when Daniel's proposal was rejected. Her suspicions were confirmed two days ago when Jamie told her about Alex's confession to him. She never liked Lucy. Mostly because the woman broke her son's heart in 1 million little pieces and Daniel didn't know about her sleeping with his brother. However, Claire was hopeful that maybe this Betty Suarez girl would repair the damage done by Lucy so many years earlier. (This would especially be necessary if Claire suspicions turned out to be true. The girl has been throwing up constantly for the last week according to Jordan, who stole the phone from Betty one morning recently.)

Of course, Claire did not exactly agree with Betty's plan to heal that damage in the form of Daniel seeing that Lucy girl again. She never wanted her son to see that woman again. She did not say anything at first, because she personally felt it was impossible for Daniel to find her. As far as she knew, the girl disappeared from the modeling scene entirely after her relationship with Daniel. There was no way Daniel would find her without hiring a detective and she doubted he would do that just to make his girlfriend happy. Unfortunately, Lucy became a photographer who did a lot of freelance work for Mode Paris, up until a year ago, and was best friends with the new creative director, who unfortunately remembered Daniel from back in the day.

She tried to talk Daniel out of his little quest to see Lucy; unfortunately, Marcy overruled her. She actually encouraged Daniel to face the demons of his past. She also said that if Daniel was ever going to have a perfectly healthy relationship with Betty than he needed to do this.

That was how she found herself outside an old farmhouse in the French countryside trying to give her son emotional support the best way she could. Daniel called Betty twice before he could even bring himself to knock on the woman's front door. (She would try to repress the fact that Betty agreed to perform oral sex on her son when he came back if he went through with this.)

The woman who opened the door did not match the pictures of the woman that her son slept with nearly a decade ago. Her eyes were gray and lifeless or at least they were until she started to glare at her friend. Her skin was ashen and she was wearing a handkerchief. Claire now had a pretty good idea why she has not worked at Mode Paris for the last year.

Claire's French may just be good enough for her to order her favorite wine but Claire was positive that the young woman was cursing the Creative Director for telling Daniel about being sick and Daniel Junior. Considering the fact that there was a child sitting in the foyer with her dead son's eyes staring at her with great alarm, Claire had a feeling that this was a very bad week to stop drinking. At the same time, she wondered if she found another reason to stay sober. It would probably be a good thing to live long enough to enjoy her grandchild, as well as, see the good man that Daniel was becoming. She just hoped this did not derail the progress.

* * *

Jamie realized that he has made a lot of bad decisions in the last couple years, including continuing a sexual relationship with the world's biggest closet case while Alex was publicly dating a sports superstar who did not deserve what he put her through. Of course, now he had a therapist to tell him what these big horrible mistakes were. Sleeping with Jordan was another one of these really bad ideas. Nothing has happened for the last two weeks but considering Jordan was five days late the damage probably was already done. Because let's be honest, when you're drunk and grieving over your ex-boyfriend suicide, you forget important things like condoms and not sleeping with someone that you used to hate until said boyfriend committed suicide and left you and her alone to pick up the fucking pieces.

The good news was Jordan stopped drinking completely nearly 5 days ago. The bad news was she refused to take a pregnancy test. Jamie tried again last night but she refused and he was starting to become desperate. That was why he was standing outside Daniel's office, which Betty has taken occupancy of since Daniel left for Europe a week and a half ago. (Apparently, Betty was more productive in a space that was previously occupied by her boyfriend.)

The only thing working in his favor was that Betty has been sick since Daniel left. Jamie believed it some weird separation anxiety thing that was sort of cute, as long as Betty didn't throw up on his shoes again. However, the rumor mill, Jordan, and apparently Mrs. Meade were convinced that Betty was pregnant (which is supposedly impossible, if Daniel was telling him the truth and well Jamie just knows the man to well to think that he's being truthful). Jamie found it deeply ironic that his—whatever can see the signs in someone else but not herself.

His plan was simple, because Jordan thinks Betty is pregnant, she is planning to ambush her roommate with Amanda for backup at the Hudson offices in 30 minutes with a bag filled with pregnancy tests. His job was to ask Betty to only agree to do the test if Jordan takes one too. In an effort to keep the rumor mill from finding out about this, he decided to give Marc an actual writing assignment to see how much potential his assistant actually had and to get him out of the office for the afternoon. Of course, he can't ask Betty to do anything while she is talking on the phone with her Daniel bear.

"Daniel you're never going to be able to move on unless you actually go speak to her. You're already outside her door; you might as well knock." Jamie is pretty sure that she was talking about Lucy because Daniel told him all about it. Jamie felt it was good for Daniel to actually meet with the woman to finally let go of everything. However, just in case, he did warn Claire about the whole thing with Alex.

"Yes, I will go down on you or whatever you call it when you come back if you go through with it." Jamie couldn't help but laugh at that which alerted Betty to his presence.

"You made me just say that in front of my boss. Jamie just walked in, I have to go." Betty said blushing as she tried to end the call. "No, I don't care if you caught him doing that same thing to your brother. Actually, I never wanted to know that. I'll call you later." Betty said as she ended the call.

"You didn't have to hang up." Jamie said walking into the room.

"Yes I did. Marcy, Mrs. Meade's sobriety coach, was laughing in the background. I'm at work, I should be working. I just finished reading through the Fiction of the Month options for the June issue and have narrowed the options down to three that guys would actually like this time. I was just about to email it to you." Betty said slipping into work mode easily. That was what he liked about her. She was going to go far in this industry.

"I'm sure there's high amounts a gratuitous sex and violence in all of them." Jamie joked.

"Not a lot, this is not Playboy." Betty replied with a small smile.

"Thanks for getting that done so soon but I'm not here about that. I kind of need a favor."

"Please do not ask me to separate the purple pieces out of your coleslaw again." Betty said as her face fell. He remembered that particular incident of jealous behavior from Marc.

"That was Marc and if it makes you feel better Wilhelmina had him do that the first day and she doesn't even eat actual food." He said with a sigh realizing that he was going to have to talk to a certain employee about his jealousy.

"Not really." Betty replied with a shrug.

"There's no easy way for me to say this but I think Jordan's pregnant." Betty did not seem surprised at all when he said this. "You suspected it too?" He asked after a moment.

"I've lived with her for about five weeks and our trash can, should be filled with tampons again by now." Betty said giving him too much information.

"She is five days late and still will not take a pregnancy test." Jamie told her as he sighed again.

"My sister waited for two months to take a test and she didn't tell anybody until she was about four months. I assume you want me to get Jordan to take one?" Betty asked.

"Actually, here is the thing, she thinks you're pregnant." Betty's mouth dropped open when he told her that. "She is planning on showing up in 25 minutes to make you take a pregnancy test but I want you to make her take one instead." Jamie said in a rush.

"What? Why?" Betty asked that in confusion.

"You did throw up on my shoes and hers. Also she doesn't believe any Meade can go without sex for an entire month." Jamie said rolling his eyes.

"Daniel is not who you think he is. Contrary to what you believe, the prerequisite event has not happened yet. Walter was three months ago and I haven't missed that thing since then." Betty said blushing. Sometimes, Jamie wondered how Daniel could date someone so innocent but the guy probably liked it and saw it as a challenge.

"That's what my mother said eight months before I was born. Did you know that you can get pregnant without vaginal penetration? My mom did not." Jordan said walking into the room as Betty's mouth went wide open in shock again. Of course, part of that would be because Amanda just stole Betty's glasses and stomped on them.

"Why did you warn her?" Jordan yelled at him just as Betty asked, "Why did you break my glasses?"

"Jordan told me we were doing an intervention. You have been backsliding since Daniel has left. Those green socks are an affront to the gods of fashion as well as your dreadful glasses. I'm not actually your friend but I can't let you keep wearing those hideous glasses." Amanda said in her normal Amanda way.

"Don't worry, Marc has scheduled you an emergency eye appointment in 30 minutes at some place a couple of blocks away. You'll have new pretty glasses by lunchtime, even if contacts would be so much better." If it were anybody but Amanda, Jamie would be shocked. However, nothing she does shocked Jamie anymore.

"This is not that type of intervention." Jordan said with a role of her eyes. "Betty, I think you're pregnant. You are throwing up all the time and you are always exhausted. You keep having headaches and your back hurts. Those are all signs of pregnancy. I know that according to you and Daniel, you have not had sex but that is only under the Bill Clinton definition. The walls in our apartment are extremely thin." Jordan said bluntly.

"I'm not late unlike you. You're what four days?" Betty asked.

"Actually, it's been five." Jamie said glaring at her.

"You were a day late last month. That was why I gave you that test. I guess you didn't use it." Amanda supplied causing both him and Jordan to open their mouth in slight surprise. Okay, maybe Claire Meade was not crazy.

"I didn't because I'm not pregnant." Betty said emphatically.

"I'm not either." Jordan practically shouted back, giving Jamie a headache. He was sure the whole entire office could hear what was going on considering at least 15 people were staring directly at Daniel's office.

"Okay, I can't deal with this. You're both taking the test right now." Amanda said sternly as she grabbed the bag of pregnancy tests from the floor where Jordan through them earlier. "You drag your sort of girlfriend to the bathroom and I'll take care of Daniel's possible baby's Mama." Amanda said pushing Betty out the door.

"I'm not pregnant." Jordan said again once they were out of the office.

"But you might be. You won't know unless you take the test." He said trying to get her to leave the office.

"I can't be pregnant with the child of a man who left both of us because he couldn't deal with life anymore." Jordan said with tears running down her cheeks. It struck Jamie at that moment that he did not even consider that she could be pregnant with Alex's child. It was possible. Alex hasn't even been dead for two months yet.

"Considering that drunken people forget to use condoms, I think odds are in our favor." Jamie joked but Jordan just glared at him.

"I'm not entirely sure that's better. You and I are so screwed up right now."

"I'm doing better. I'm seeing a therapist. I think you should come with me." He couldn't keep seeing her like this, so broken.

"Maybe I will." Jordan said in resignation.

"We can do this." Jamie told her as he grabbed her hand.

"I guess I have no choice." Jordan said in acquiescence just before Jamie led her to the ladies room. Jamie was sure this whole episode would be over the rumor mill in a matter of minutes despite him purposely not having Marc there. He tried not to think about it as he waited in the hallway as conspicuously as ever.

The monotony was broken up by Faye Somers entering the Hudson offices and going straight for him despite the efforts of his receptionist to stop her. Unlike a lot of people he doesn't completely hate Faye Somers or at least he did not anymore after he found out from Amanda that Faye wasn't the one who told Claire about the whole Alex suicide thing but rather the other person that Bradford Meade was fucking behind his wife and mistress's back. Unlike everyone else, he can understand what it was like to love somebody who could never love you publicly. Although, that still doesn't mean that he doesn't want-to be better than Mode in every way possible. There was nothing wrong with healthy competition.

"According to Marisol, my da—other assistant is up here taking a pregnancy test, instead of doing her actual job." For the first time during their entire acquaintance, Faye Somers sounded something other than aloof. He would say that she was concerned but he could not tell because the Botox has practically frozen her face. Why would she be concerned about her accountant's daughter? Although according to Amanda, they have known each other for a really long time and that's why Faye Somers saved her from Wilhelmina the devil. Jamie really didn't have time to think about it because Jordan ran out the bathroom in tears with Amanda standing behind her with a pregnancy test in hand. It was positive. Betty was slowly walking behind the two as if she was in a daze.

Unfortunately, Faye could also see the positive pregnancy test in Amanda's hand.

"I'm too young to be a grandmother." Faye Somers said before collapsing to the floor. Amanda was too busy with her boss to comprehend what was said. There was no way Jamie could have heard her right. It just can't be possible, could it?

* * *

So who's pregnant? Will Amanda ever piece together why Faye fainted? Will Claire ever get brave enough to leave Bradford? Why exactly is Wilhelmina in Zürich, if she really is in Zürich? More importantly, why is this story called Alex Suarez?

All will be revealed, eventually. Until next time, please review.


	10. No Use Crying Over Broken Latex

Thank you to everyone who read or reviewed the last chapter.

Some people may have been upset about the cliffhanger in the last chapter but keep in mind that I'm trying to write as if this was an episode of Ugly Betty stylistically. That includes the use of cliffhangers. However, I woke up at 5 AM on a Saturday just so I can get you this chapter as soon as possible.

On a related note, the wonderful teddy bear has been the beta on this story since the beginning even though she prefers my Star Trek stories. For personal reasons, she will no longer be able to be the beta on this story. I need a new beta. Basically all you need to do is read through the chapter early and correct any homonyms. The good news is I'm getting a lot better at catching this stuff myself. So if you want the next chapter without major typos and as soon as possible please volunteer to be my beta. I'm not sure I'm willing to post a chapter that hasn't been proofread by third-party anymore.

* * *

Chapter 10: No Use Crying Over Broken Latex

Daniel felt like he had literally been hit with a sledgehammer. The last time he felt like this was when he found out Alex was dead. It was like there was no air left in his lungs. Of course, unlike the Alex situation, he couldn't deny this because the evidence was sitting in front of him with his dead brother's eyes. He was a father or maybe an uncle and he was not sure why that possibility scared him more.

Maybe if he heard about his brother fucking his girlfriend before his death, he probably would have strangled the bastard. However, Alex was dead and there was no point in being angry anymore. It probably helped that Lucy kept crying during her confession. At least, somebody was showing contrition because he was sure Alex would not.

Under different circumstances, he probably would've been furious but it's hard to work up righteous anger against someone who was dying. Lucy had stage IV breast cancer. Thanks to Betty, he knew what stage IV breast cancer was like. He has seen pictures and listen to Betty explained the details of what her mother's last few months were like. Because he was once in love with this woman he will not bother her with his anger right now because she's not well enough to deal with it.

Lucy was furious that Claudette brought him here and at the same time she was relieved. As he said earlier, she had stage IV breast cancer. The situation with her parents was just this precarious as before. It was actually worse because she was no longer there personal piggy bank. She didn't exactly want to leave Daniel Junior to the same people that saw her as nothing more than a commodity and Daniel understood completely.

However, she was upset because she wasn't supposed to contact him thanks to her accepting a very indecent proposal from Bradford at her parent's insistence. A month after the breakup Lucy found out she was pregnant and was sure that he was the father just because they had sex a lot more and she was completely drunk when the incident with Alex happened and she doesn't even remember exactly how far it went. Because he was so pissed off at her for not accepting his proposal, he didn't pick up the phone (although, Daniel really wished he did now.) She got desperate and ended up calling Bradford (Daniel doesn't think he will ever be able to call the man father again). Bradford decided that illegitimate grandchildren would be bad for his perfect image and offer Lucy a truckload of money to make the problem 'go away'. Lucy refused. However, when he threatened to make her untouchable in the magazine industry she agreed to keep the paternity of her child a secret and never contact Daniel about the baby in exchange for a decent size trust fund for Daniel Junior (that she purposely made sure her parents could never touch).

Daniel didn't blame Lucy for taking the offer. He saw what Hilda had to go through to support her son by herself. She did everything from catering jobs to selling makeup out of the back of her car. Single motherhood was a hard life. He wouldn't wish that life on anyone. Justin was such a great kid that Daniel can't imagine why his father did not want anything to do with him.

Now the person that Daniel was fucking furious with was Bradford Meade. How the hell could the man keep his (or possibly Alex's) child away from him? How could he pay to get rid of his own grandkid? It made Daniel physically ill. (There was a darker part of his mind that wondered if Alex knew that he had a child would he have stuck around, despite the fact that there sperm donor was an asshole.)

"This could just be some scheme to extort money. I know you guys are wealthy." Marcy said on the long drive back. Maybe if DJ and Lucy showed up in Manhattan to tell him this, Daniel would think the same way but he was the one who found her. The shocked look on Lucy's face could not be faked. DJ looked so much like Alex that it was painful. It was like looking at his brother's ghost. Of course, pre-Betty Daniel probably would have saw things differently. He wondered if he would've run away or man up and taken care of his child. Now, he didn't want to be anything like the man who screwed over Betty's sister, even if he really did not like her sister.

"Bradford would not have given her a penny without getting a DNA test. He's just that type of bastard." Daniel said in absolute anger. He was shaking.

"You should just confirm it anyway." Marcy said quietly.

"I'll arrange something. I probably should talk to the lawyers anyway. This is going to be messy." His mom said with bitterness and anger. She had other choice words regarding her husband during Lucy's story. The word divorce may have been mentioned a couple of times.

"You're probably right. How the hell am I going to tell Betty about this?" That was the question he kept thinking about all evening. He just knew that DJ would be in his life from now on and that was going to affect things with Betty. His girlfriend absolutely loved her nephew but how would she feel about playing stepmom to his kid.

"I don't know." His mother said quietly.

"I wouldn't say anything to your girlfriend until you know for sure. There's a good chance this kid may be just your nephew." Marcy suggested. She was pretty much the voice of reason in this entire nasty mess.

"That really doesn't matter. Alex is dead. I have met Lucy's parents. I can't leave my nephew with people like that. They only saw Lucy as a way to fatten their bank accounts. They started her modeling career when she was 9. She did not have a childhood. I'm not going to let them do that to my family." He didn't say anything about the drugs and parties they exposed her to at such a young age. His mom didn't need to know about that.

"If he is Alex's child, he will have a family in the two of us." Of course, Daniel knew it that wouldn't be 'us', it would 'him'. His mom could barely take care of herself, let alone another human being.

"Don't get too far ahead of yourself. Deal with the lawyers and the DNA test first." Marcy said trying to get them to calm down.

"Hopefully, I can find one that isn't in your father's pocket. If your father manages to tear himself away from whoever he is screwing this week to actually call, I prefer you say nothing to him." His mother said icily.

"That's going to be easy to do because I'm not planning on speaking to that man again. As far as I'm concerned, I don't have a father anymore." Daniel said angrily.

"That's okay; I really don't have a husband anymore." That was enough to make Daniel wonder if his parent's marriage really was over for good.

Daniel was tired of talking and decided to check his blackberry. Okay, maybe he wanted to exchange emails with Betty. Daniel knew he could not tell her about this but he needed a little Betty wonderfulness right now. Of course, he wasn't expecting an email from Jamie that would make the situation even more screwed up, if such a thing were possible. There was no text in the message just the subject line: Jordan's pregnant.

"Actually, we may have another problem." Daniel said passing the blackberry to his mother.

"Fuck!"

* * *

Betty was pregnant at 20.

How did this happen to her? With Walter she used condoms and spermicide. Okay, with Daniel she may have been sloppy the first few times they did anything sexual but after the infamous dress incident the two always used condoms to cut down on messiness, if nothing else. She wasn't even completely sure she believed Jordan when she said it was possible for Betty to become pregnant without actual sex sex. However, they were still careful, except for those first few times. Although, considering her roommate was literally sitting next to her waiting for the gynecologist to confirm that her life was going to change forever, maybe the condoms were bad.

Now this situation would be bad under normal circumstances but it was made worse by the fact that her sister was glaring at her and saying "I told you so every 30 seconds". Betty had no choice but to call her sister to bring down her emergency glasses because of Amanda's 'intervention'. Because they could not get an appointment for a couple of hours, Betty did go to the optometrist down the hall (as a distraction, if nothing else) but her new glasses would not be ready for a week. That meant calling her sister and unfortunately her sister was already suspicious because Justin told her about all the throwing up that Betty has been doing lately. The fact that she had to deliver Betty's glasses to a gynecologist office told her everything she needed to know. Hilda hasn't stopped criticizing her since she arrived, even if she was holding onto her hand the entire time.

"Just shut up." Jordan said after 15 minutes of listening to Betty being berated by Hilda. "Accidents happen, no matter how careful you are. I'm probably here because I couldn't keep anything down for the first two weeks after my boyfriend committed—after my boyfriend died, including my birth control pills." Jordan said stopping herself from telling Hilda the truth. Betty was starting to believe that Bradford's confidentiality agreement was more detrimental to Jordan's emotional recovery than anythingelse. How can you get over such a profound event if you are not even allowed to talk about it?

"I'm not saying these things to you. You're not some 20-year-old who just threw her whole life away for a pretty guy who can't even bother to be here." Hilda said sharply.

"Yes, but I'm hearing the same thing. Daniel is my friend and a good person. You don't know him. Daniel is not here because his daddy is making him take care of his dirty business including dealing with his alcoholic mother, the business affairs of his brother who did something I'm not legally allowed to tell you, and firing the EIC in Paris, that Mr. Meade was also screwing behind his wife's back."Jordan practically yelled at Hilda.

"He was sleeping with someone else?" Betty asked.

"According to Amanda, who heard from Marc, Bradford made an excuse to go to Paris every couple of months to hook up with the EIC over there. However she got tired of being his dirty secret and wanted him to divorce Daniel's mom. His response was to send Daniel there to fire her." Betty just shook her head.

"Okay, so maybe he has a good reason not to be here but will he stick around after he finds out your pregnant?" Hilda asked after a minute, raising the one question that Betty was afraid of the answer of.

"I know Daniel. Sometimes he's an overgrown toddler but he is always there when you need him to be. It wasn't like I was married to Alex but Daniel has been one of the few things that has gotten me through these last horrible weeks. He will do the right thing." Jordan said in Daniel's defense before whispering the last part under breath. "At least he is still alive to be here." Jordan's words were reassuring because Betty was terrified. They didn't have sex. A part of her was almost positive that she was really carrying Walter's baby. Would Daniel stay with her if she was carrying another man's child, even if she got pregnant before they even met? She needed to talk to Daniel but she was afraid to.

"But you don't know that," Hilda told Jordan, breaking Betty out of her thoughts.

"No, I don't. I grew up without a father. I'm well aware that guys run away. Even though my mom had to raise me by herself, she still finished med school. It is not the end of your dream; it is just taking an alternate route to your final destination." Jordan said squeezing Betty's hand for support.

"Before I got pregnant with Justin I had so many plans. I was going to go to college but that didn't happen. Instead, I sell beauty products out of the trunk of my car." There was something in the way her sister was looking at her that was almost as if she was implying that Betty will end up the exact same way. That look was upsetting.

"But I'm not you. You had a 2.3 GPA and spent more time making out with Santos than you did actually doing your homework. I'm not a 16-year-old who got pregnant because the condom broke on prom. I'm an almost 21-year-old college student who works full-time at one of the top men's magazines in the country and I'm in a relationship with a guy that actually loves me. The situation is not the same." Betty said more for herself, then for her sister.

"That just means you should have learned from my mistakes." Hilda said bitterly.

"I did. That's why I didn't have sex until I was 20. Trust me, I wished that I never slept with Walter. I wished Daniel was my first because then I wouldn't be here worried that I'm carrying the child of the guy I had to get a restraining order against. But it's done. If I'm pregnant, that will not change. I just have to accept it." Betty said fighting back tears.

"It could." Hilda said in a whisper. She couldn't believe her sister was suggesting that considering what happened with her and Santos. Justin's biological father did not take the news that he was going to be a dad very well. He essentially demanded that Hilda get an abortion and her response was to knock him unconscious. They've only seen each other about three times since that incident. The man was the definition of absentee father.

"I can't believe you're even suggesting that. I can't picture life without Justin." Betty said angrily,

"I can't either, I just—this is such a hard life. I wanted you to have it better than me. You're the good one. Mom is gone and I'm supposed to take care of you and I feel like I've just failed miserably." Hilda said crying, as she hugged Betty. Betty was crying too.

"But this just happens sometimes. My mother said there's no use crying over broken latex. " Jordan said after a moment.

"Your mother was a smart woman. It's good to see you Jordan. Although, I wished it was under different circumstances." The Doctor said before breaking the news that both pregnancy tests worked perfectly fine.

Jordan cried a lot, especially when she was told she was only about four weeks pregnant. That meant for sure that the baby was Jamie's child. Betty was uncertain if Jordan wanted it to be the other way or not.

Betty was just kind of in a state of shock. The good news was she was only seven weeks pregnant and with the weird way they counted gestation that meant that she managed to get pregnant the first time she and Daniel did something. Surprisingly enough, the only thing her sister said was well at least we know the baby was not Walter's. Because even if Daniel left her after finding out that she was pregnant, carrying Walter's baby would be 1000 times worse. At least she actually loves Daniel.

Did she actually say love?

Okay, yes, she was in love with Daniel, maybe that was the real reason why she was so scared. What if he was exactly like Santos, despite what he has said otherwise? She was afraid to deal with that possibility.

By the time she actually got home she was emotionally exhausted and was thankful that her sister had to get home to pick up Justin. Her sister agreed to keep her mouth shut until Betty was ready to tell people and that wouldn't happen until Daniel got back from France, because you don't break something like this over the phone. She wanted to call Daniel despite the fact that it was after midnight where he was. She just needed to hear his voice even if she could not tell him this. She was scared and not sure what she was going to do next. She just needed him.

Unfortunately, she did not get a chance to because Daniel's father was sitting in the living room waiting for Jordan. They weren't even sure how he managed to get into the apartment. Apparently the Meade rumor mill works better than most people expected and he already knew Jordan was pregnant. Fortunately, no one suspected her situation. Basically he was there to offer Jordan a quarter of a million to make her a little supposed Alex problem go away by whatever means necessary.

"You don't have anything to worry about. The baby is Jamie's child. Did I ever tell you that Alex and I had a polyamorous relationship? We were both fucking Jamie, sometimes simultaneously." She said kicking Mister Meade out of their apartment before the shocked expression fell off the man's face. Jordan was literally shaking when she came back in.

"I can't believe he did that. Oh wait; he's the guy that convinced Alex that suicide was his best option. Yes, I can wholeheartedly believe that he would do something that cruel." Jordan said with tears running down her cheeks. Betty's reaction was to hug her.

"It's okay. He can't make you do anything you don't want to do. Besides the doctors said that you haven't been pregnant long enough for the baby to be Alex's child." Betty said trying to calm her down.

"Even though I'm upset about the fact that I won't have a little piece of Alex to keep with me I'm glad the baby is Jamie's child. He only wants to hurt Alex's child not Jamie's." Jordan said pulling out of the hug as she placed her hands protectively over her stomach.

"What about Daniel's child?" Betty asked out loud absently.

"Fuck," Jordan exclaimed.

"You think that he will do the same thing to me?" She asked with a hint of fear. She wasn't ready to be a mom at 20 that this was her kid and she just knew that she would do anything to protect her child even from his or her own grandfather.

"I know he will. Bradford Meade is a ruthless man that only cares about appearances. You're not the woman that he wants to carry Daniel's child." Jordan said softly and Betty really wished she was in Europe at the moment with Daniel by her side.

* * *

Faye Somers hated hospitals. That seemed strange coming from somebody who has been under the knife as many times as she has. Of course, what she hated the most was waking up alone. Her friends were not really friends but rather followers. They did not care about her, only what she could give them. She had a sister who still lived in Puerto Rico that she still spoke to on occasion but that was it. Everyone else was either dead or she was no longer on speaking terms with.

Bradford will not be there. He never was even before their most recent break up. In the last few weeks, she has realized that there relationship was clandestine for reasons other than Claire Meade's existence. Bradford cared more about appearances than her. He didn't love her and never would.

She would be waking up alone because she really had no one. That wasn't exactly true but Amanda didn't exactly know that she was family. That was a secret Faye was planning to take to her grave even if she ended up there tonight.

For years she's been accused of being a masochist, most recently from Marisol. She doesn't understand why Faye has yet to put in her resignation, knowing full well what Bradford did to her. They weren't really friends but they've known each other since high school when her last name was Sanchez. Her first act of masochism in regards to her daughter was hiring Amanda as the Mode receptionist. She could have gotten Amanda a job anywhere in the company but instead she put her at the receptionist desk that she passes 50 times a day. She pretended not to know her even though she made her various assistants report any Amanda related gossip to her immediately. She gave Amanda the job as Wilhelmina's assistant because she knew that Amanda had potential if she actually tried and she knew that Wilhelmina would force Amanda to try. She did better than expected but that annoyed Wilhelmina. Faye couldn't handle her creative director being nasty to her daughter, that's why she made Amanda her other assistant.

Of course, she wasn't expecting Amanda to waste that potential by making the same mistake she did. Her only thought before everything went black was maybe if she was actually there for her daughter, history would not be repeating itself. There was another part of her who wanted to see her granddaughter grow up. Of course, Faye Somers would never admit to something so sentimental. She was the biggest bitch in the fashion industry, she had no place for sentimentality.

She was vaguely conscious under a drug induced haze and not the fun drugs. She had a heart attack brought on by a combination of Bradford induced stress, years of anorexia, and finding out that she was going to be a grandmother before the age of whatever age she was pretending to be right now. She was lucky to be alive apparently.

She was shocked when Dr. McKenzie told Faye that her daughter was outside the room waiting for her to wake up. She didn't even think to say that she did not have a daughter but that would've been a lie even if nobody knew except for a handful of people. Wilhelmina was in Zürich on a personal error and Marisol did not know that Amanda was the daughter that Faye gave up years ago. Did Amanda's father say something? If the situation was serious enough Faye could see him breaking his promise to her. Of course, it didn't occur to her that Amanda was lying as she explained 20 minutes later when she was actually allowed in the room.

"I figure you didn't want to stay here alone and they only allow family to stay overnight when you're in cardiac care. The nurse assumed that I was your daughter because we kind of look-alike and I didn't say anything." Amanda explained.

"Smart nurse," Faye mumbled under breath so low no one else could hear her.

"Do you want some water?" Amanda asked after the silence became a word.

"I'm not allowed to drink anything, although, feel free to drink yourself. I'm sure water is good for babies." She said not really remembering what she did when she was pregnant with Amanda except that she had to give up smoking and all recreational drugs. She pretty much repressed everything. It was too painful to remember.

"I'm not pregnant." Amanda told her but Faye did not believe her daughter.

"I saw the test before I went out." Faye said emphatically.

"It wasn't mine. It belonged to my friend. I had to force her to take the test. Her sister got pregnant at 16 and it derailed her life. She's kind of afraid that this will do the same thing to her, plus her ex-boyfriend was a prick of the insane variety." Amanda said frantically making Faye believe that there was no friend.

"There are alternatives." She suggested trying to calm Amanda down. She didn't like seeing her daughter like this.

"You don't know Bet- my friend. She can't even kill a fly, let alone a baby." Amanda said correcting herself but Faye knew who she was talking about and it was that barely legal potentially pretty but badly dressed college girl that Daniel was currently screwing. If she was telling the truth that meant Bradford was going to be a grandfather again. The man will not be pleased at all. She was there during the Lucy fiasco. She was the one who convinced the young French girl to take the deal by telling her the story of Amanda and how sometimes a mother needs to do what's best for her child instead of herself.

"There are other options besides that. There's adoption."

"I'm not sure she would do that either. What type of person gives up her child to be raised by a stranger?" Faye blames what she said next on all the drugs that were racing through her system.

"Me," she said in the softest whisper imaginable.

"What?" Amanda asked in shock.

"I barely had the job as Mode EIC for 4 months when I found out I was pregnant. I slept with some guy with a Tweety Bird tattoo on his backside at Studio 54. I partied too much and I took too many drugs. I lived only for my job. I couldn't raise a kid. I was not fit to. I found her a nice family in the suburbs to take care of her. Now she is a perfectly well-adjusted 20 something with excellent fashion sense. She would've turned out like Wilhelmina's daughter if I've raised her. It was the hardest decision I ever made but it was for the best." She said leaving out anything that would make Amanda realize that she was talking about her. Of course, she forgot that Amanda was not as stupid as everyone assumed her to be.

"Before you passed out you said you were too young to be a grandmother. You assumed I was the one that was pregnant. I grew up in the suburbs. The nurse said that we look-alike. You were always around when I was growing up and I never knew why. It wasn't like any of my dad's other clients ever came by the house. Was it me?" Amanda asked apparently putting the pieces together better than she expected.

"Yes," she said in a whisper. Even if she was never planning for this moment she thought about what would happen if Amanda ever found out (more so in these last few weeks than ever before) but Faye wasn't expecting the reaction she got. Amanda just ran away.

* * *

"Why are you here?" Alexis said as she opened the door to her apartment. The first step in her transformation was to start referring to herself by the female pronoun. The second step was using her new name Alexis. Bangkok was always a great place to disappear. She did not stand out in the city. She dressed as a woman most of the time now, although it would be a few more months of hormone treatments before she can begin phase 1 of her physical transformation.

"I thought you would want your new passport. I got the last name from your brother's latest 'girlfriend'." Wilhelmina said handing the documents to Alexis. She looked inside to see the name Alex Suarez and frowned.

"I thought you would just send a messenger, not come all the way to Thailand. Also, I thought I told you to use the name Alexis." Alexis said slightly annoyed. Alex did not exist anymore. Alex was Bradford Meade's golden boy and that person died last Thanksgiving when he told his father that he wanted to go through gender reassignment surgery and the man reacted badly.

"You're not female yet. Once your body matches your mind you can be Alexis but right now you need to be Alex. Also, plans change. Contrary to what you assumed your brother is not gallivanting off in Rio but working on becoming your father's new golden boy. If Danny keeps going the way that he has your name may go off the will sooner rather than later." Wilhelmina said before going on to explain how Daniel was messing everything up and how Jordan and Jamie didn't care about her at all now that they had each other.

Alexis smiled to herself at Wilhelmina's words because she knew Wilhelmina was lying to her. According to the therapy emails that she has been receiving from her lover, Daniel was in France taking care of firing another one of his father's mistresses and Daniel wasn't even on speaking terms with their father at the moment. He was upset to find out that her revenge for Bradford was seen by her brother, girlfriend, and boyfriend but it made them hate the man as much as she did and therefore it was worth it. At least now they knew who Bradford really was. It was enough to make Alexis very thankful she never gave up her blackberry and Jamie wasn't mentally ready to close out Alex's account. She now had a source outside of Wilhelmina.

She already knew not to trust the woman before she first approached Alex nearly 3 months ago with a solution to her problems. Wilhelmina's dad was a senator and she had connections. She could come up with an entire new identity that would allow Alexis to leave Alex behind for good. All she needed to do was help Wilhelmina get control of Mode magazine. She didn't trust Wilhelmina but as the saying goes 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' and Alex hated Faye Somers for what she did to her mother. In light of the fact that Faye Somers actually broke things off, Alexis was not sure that the woman was as evil as initially thought.

Now she wondered if she made the right decision. Daniel mourned her. Her mother was a mess. Jamie and Jordan wanted her back regardless. (He never considered that they would agree to a three-way relationship if he asked). Of course, there was today's confession that he was going to be an uncle and possibly a father. Alexis didn't trust Wilhelmina and she was not sure how she would react when she finds out that there's two new heirs to the Meade Empire. If nothing else she knew that she needed to keep an eye on Wilhelmina and that meant playing her game.

"What's your plan?" Alexis asked.

"We may need to speed up your transformation and I need you to tell me anything I can use against your father." Wilhelmina told her coldly.

* * *

It was 7:32 AM when Daniel called her. Maybe he was getting better at figuring out time differences. It didn't matter because she has been up since 6 AM when Amanda showed up at her apartment crying. Betty had no idea why she was there but Betty cannot be mad at her for the glasses incident when she keeps crying like that. That's what she told Daniel about when she tried to pretend that everything was perfectly normal.

"She broke your glasses?" He asked on the verge of laughter.

"She was helping. Okay, in her Amanda way she was helping. Apparently, I'm backsliding." What she wanted to say is 'I was too sick and tired the last few days to care how I look because somehow you managed to get me pregnant without actual sex' but said nothing. Even if she was willing to tell him on the phone, it would be too absurd for him to believe her. She doesn't even completely believe that she's pregnant yet. She is still in the denial phase. Her father was going to kill her.

"Betty, are you still there?" Okay, apparently she got too lost in her baby related thoughts.

"I'm fine Daniel. I'm exhausted because a lot of stuff happened yesterday," she told him with a yawn.

"I know, I got an email from Jamie." Okay, that was not good. Would Jamie tell Daniel that he was going to be a dad in an email? She didn't know Jamie well enough yet to know if you would do something like that.

"What did he say?" she asked tentatively.

"That Jordan's pregnant," Daniel told her exhaled in relief at that moment.

"Yes, she's pregnant. The doctor confirmed it yesterday but she's only four weeks." Betty only confirmed because Jamie already told him.

"That's good. I'm sure Bradford would be furious if that wasn't the case."

"He was," she said before thinking.

"What happened?" Daniel asked slightly scared.

"It's not my place to tell. Talk to Jordan tomorrow," she told him wondering if she already said too much.

"It wasn't something along the lines of offering her money to get rid of her Alex problem?" Daniel asked.

"How did you know that?" How could Daniel have guessed something like that? Did the man do something like this before? With Daniel's reputation such a thing would not be completely outside the realm of possibility.

"It just sounds like something my father would do." Daniel said in a way that told Betty he was lying.

"How did things go with Lucy?" Betty asked changing the subject.

"Badly," Daniel said simply.

"What happened?" She asked with concern.

"Well to start with I found out that she turned down my proposal because she slept with my brother and she currently has stage IV breast cancer." Daniel told her without inflection.

"I'm sorry." She said not sure of what to say.

"I wish you were here." He said with sorrow in his voice.

"I wish I was there." She told him. Deciding what she should do would be so much easier if she didn't feel alone.

"Just promise me you'll be careful around my fa- Bradford." Daniel said correcting himself again. Obviously Mr. Meade did something so horrible that Daniel cannot even call him his father anymore. "Actually, tell Jordan to be careful too. I'm not sure if he will believe that Jordan is not pregnant with Alex's kid without a DNA test."

"You're worried?" Betty asked.

"I don't trust Bradford. If it were you in her situation, I would tell you to run." She wondered if subconsciously he just knew what was going on.

"Promise me that if something similar happened that you'll run away. Do whatever you have to." He told her this in a way that made her think he already knew.

"I promise," she whispered in reply.

To be continued

* * *

Please review and consider if you can be my beta on this story. Again, I really do need help.


	11. Advice from the Supposed Devil

Thank you to everyone who read or reviewed the last chapter. Thank you to everybody who volunteered to be my beta. Cocodiva328 graciously looked over this chapter. Your support always helps me stay focused through computers that breakdown and all the other things that can go wrong when writing a story. Sorry, for the long lag between updates. It was a combination of finishing up one story and then my computer getting sick and going into the shop for a week to get a brand new hard drive. Starfleet Family Values is now done after three very long years. I am sticking to my four stories or less rule now. I'm also going to try to updates stories in a normal rotation, unless I get really blocked. So hopefully I'll be able to update about once every three weeks (sooner, if I can get back to writing two chapters in a weekend).

This chapter takes place about two weeks after the last one.

* * *

**Chapter 11: Sympathy for and Advice from the Supposed Devil.**

Faye Somers hated being sick. Actually, she hated being weak or at least perceived as weak. Wilhelmina couldn't get back from Zürich fast enough when she heard about the heart attack. According to Marisol, during her acting tenure as EIC, Wilhelmina completely got rid of everything planned for the May issue, with the assistance of her brand-new minion, Carlo Medina (that she poached from Isabella). Faye was well aware of the fact that Wilhelmina wanted her out by whatever means necessary. The bitch probably thought the heart attack was a gift from God, to provide her with the perfect opportunity to take over. Really, it was her own fault for training the woman so well. Wanda, the daughter of her congressmen friend, was always ambitious but Wilhelmina, was the type of person who would literally crawl over a dead body to get what she wanted because that's what Faye taught her. The student was trying to become the master or maybe the student was tired of being under the master.

Wilhelmina wanted her out permanently and she obviously did not believe she could earn Faye's job by being the best acting EIC ever. According to Jamie, Wilhelmina was trying very hard at the moment to become Bradford's brand-new fuck toy. Apparently, Wilhelmina was under the impression that Faye became the youngest and longest running EIC of Mode magazine simply because she gave good head. She was good at what she did and not just in the bedroom. The then, 70 year old fashion magazine, was falling apart when she took over and Faye made it great once more.

Pre-heart attack, she would have cared about her former lover screwing around with someone else. Post heart attack, it didn't seem to matter anymore. Wilhelmina Slater could have Bradford. Both people were heartless individuals, who cared only about themselves. Wilhelmina pretended that her daughter did not exist and well, Faye saw firsthand what Bradford did to both Daniel and Alex. They were perfect for each other.

Her feelings for Bradford were starting to dissipate, now that she really saw him and she couldn't believe that she let herself be used for so long. The man couldn't even be bothered to send her a get well card, let alone see her in person. Even Clara sent flowers, even if the card said, the only proof that she actually had a heart was that she had a heart attack. The only thing Faye got from her former lover and employer of nearly two decades was a call from his assistant asking when she would be well enough to return to work. That made her resolve to never go back to Bradford; it was over for good this time.

She was supposed to stay out for eight weeks but she didn't have time for that. It's been two weeks and Wilhelmina was already trying to take over the most important thing in her life and that was definitely not Bradford Meade. As Faye stated earlier, Wilhelmina could have Bradford (as much as anybody could have Bradford), but Mode was hers. A little heart attack wasn't going to keep her from her magazine.

Some would say that she was just as heartless as Bradford and Wilhelmina but she did care about other things, chief among them was _her _Mode. (Which Wilhelmina will only get control of when she was dead and in the ground.) The other thing was her daughter, who was currently avoiding her. She hasn't spoken to Amanda since she ran out of her hospital room 16 days ago. She could understand. There was a reason why she was planning to never tell Amanda. She knew the twenty something would hate her for her choice and would never want to speak with her again.

She expected cold indifference but she didn't get that. The week that she was in the hospital, Amanda had her chubby little friend, bring Faye designer bathrobes, trashy romance novels (which were a secret guilty pleasure of hers), and updates on how Wilhelmina was destroying her magazine. Considering that Faye was a major contributing factor to why Betty's boyfriend was dealing with his lush of a mother in France, instead of spending time with her, it made Faye very aware that she was only doing this for her friend's sake. Betty seemed so nice that she was sure that Bradford would eat the younger woman alive if he knew that she was pregnant with his grandchild. (Of course, when Betty somehow managed to get the Book from Wilhelmina, she wonders if the girl could survive after all.) Yet, Faye did not believe that niceness would be enough to make Betty spend time with her without a push from Amanda.

There could be another reason. Maybe she felt guilty for being the catalyst that triggered Faye's heart attack. It was her pregnancy test that sent Faye over the edge and resulted in giving Wilhelmina the perfect opportunity to take over her magazine. However, for Betty to feel guilty she would have to know about the entire situation with Amanda. She's not sure Amanda told Betty this.

* * *

After a week, her cardiologist finally allowed her to come home. Her house was clean of everything she was not allowed to have and her fridge was filled with heart healthy food. She assumed it was Marisol until the woman told her otherwise. Amanda was the one who arranged everything. Amanda even took care of Halston during Faye's hospital stay. That's not something a person that absolutely hates you would do. But when she tried to call Amanda to talk to her about this, she got her voicemail. Faye was too afraid to actually leave a message.

Betty was still coming by with dinner daily. Today, she actually came by with the Book, confirming in her mind that she needed to be back in the office tomorrow, if she could help it. It was obvious to Faye that she's only doing this because Amanda asked her to do so.

"You don't have to be here. I don't even know why you're here. I think I said two words to you before…" she doesn't finish. They both know she was talking about the heart attack.

"Amanda is a friend and she asked me to come by. Wilhelmina has her really busy." That excuse was laughable. Wilhelmina has already demoted Amanda back to her job as the Mode receptionist.

"Don't lie, darling. You're not good at it," Faye said directly. "She's avoiding me."

"She is not really avoiding you. She is worried about you but she is not ready to talk to you yet. Amanda thinks you gave her up for the sake of your career. That is essentially what her parents told her last weekend," Faye closed her eyes a moment, not surprised that was what they told her. That's what she wanted them to think.

"I take that you know my biggest secret. Amanda must be a good friend," Faye said as she took a bite of the salmon dish Betty brought to her. It tasted okay, although she wasn't much for eating. She preferred to get most of her calories in liquid form.

"She says we're not friends but she comes by a lot. Although, she did break my glasses," Betty said, pausing as she pushed up her new more stylish frames on her face.

"She was doing you a favor," Faye mumbled under breath.

"Amanda did not exactly tell me. She kind of broke down when she saw the adoption pamphlets that my sister brought over. I mean…" the young woman said, trying to backtrack her words but it was already too late. Betty already gave too much away. If this woman was trying to keep this pregnancy a secret, she was already doing a horrible job.

"You vomited on my designer slippers. I am well aware you're carrying the next heir to the Meade Empire." A panic look fell across Betty's face. "No, I haven't said anything to Bradford. We are not exactly on speaking terms right now," Faye said bitterly.

"He's not on speaking terms with a lot of people." The young one mumbled under breath.

"Bradford is a wonderful businessman and a horrible human being." If it was anyone but this sweet naïve little girl, she would mention the fact that Faye had sex with a married man for more than two decades. However, Betty said nothing.

"Nobody knows yet except for Jamie, Amanda, my sister, and Jordan." Betty said looking up at the wall.

"Is that because you're still trying to figure out what to do?" Faye asked gently, remembering those panic filled days after she found out she was carrying Amanda.

"I'm keeping the baby," she said firmly.

"They're still adoption, even if your future child will hate you after she finds out," Faye told her without eye contact.

"Amanda doesn't hate you," Betty said, trying to be reassuring. "She's just trying to figure out how to process everything. I wouldn't be here otherwise."

"No, she hates me." Faye said, closing her eyes. Sometimes, she hated herself, for what she did.

"Did you really give her up for your career?" Betty asked tentatively.

"You're too young to realize this, but the world is not black and white. Nothing is ever that simple. I was never the type of person who should raise a child. I took too many drugs and fucked all the wrong people. I did not exactly have a family that would help out. She was better off with the Tannins. I told Amanda this except for the part about the lack of family." Faye said keeping her voice neutral.

"I'm not sure I am the type of person who should raise a child either. I'm an almost 21 year old intern who is not even through college yet. My sister is pissed and keeps saying I told you so every 20 minutes. My father is going to kill me, if I ever get brave enough to tell him. He was so disappointed when my sister got pregnant at 16. I was supposed to know better than that but apparently I had no idea that you could get pregnant without penetration." Faye raised an eyebrow at that comment. "I don't even know how to tell Daniel. He's supposed to be back in a week." The young girl's voice was tinged with panic.

"I think you're in much better shape than you think. Your family is angry because they actually care about you. Both of my parents were gone by that point and I wasn't speaking to my sister for most of the eighties. Also unlike me, you didn't get pregnant because you were so high you forgot to use a condom. I needed a detective to figure out who got me pregnant and I still couldn't bring myself to tell him about what happened." Betty tried to interrupt her but Faye already knew what she was going to ask. "Just so that you know, there's no way Amanda could be your honey bear's sister because Bradford did not start stringing me along for another two years." As she said those words, she really did feel like a fool. She was ashamed at all the stupid things she did to get Bradford to leave Claire and he never did. Instead, he just found new women to fuck around with. Bradford Meade made a fool of her and he was going to pay because no one made a fool of Faye Somers.

"I'm sorry," Betty said almost sounding genuine.

"What are you apologizing for?" Faye spat out.

"I'm trying to be nice," Betty replied defensively.

"That's your problem. Most people don't respond to nice. I'm anything but nice. In my business, nice people end up with a Prada heel in their back. If you want to keep your baby safe from Bradford Meade, you will keep that in mind. You're not some famous model like the last person your boyfriend got pregnant or a famous athlete like Alex's girlfriend. Bradford could easily make you disappear if you don't do what he wants." Faye told her sternly as she realized that helping this girl may be the only way to get Amanda to speak to her again.

"What are you talking about?" Betty asked confused.

"Don't worry. Your boyfriend didn't know." Faye said, trying to reassure the young girl. There was something about her that made Faye want to be slightly less abrasive (other than the fact that she knew she needed Betty on her side).

"Didn't know what?" Betty asked again.

"That Daniel knocked up his model girlfriend during his summer in Paris when you were probably still in the middle of your New Kids on the Block phase," she said smirking.

"You're lying. She would have said something. Daniel hasn't mentioned anything about her having a kid and he went to meet with her two weeks ago." Faye smile to herself. Maybe God still cared about her after all and this was his way of paying her back for the heart attack. She was going to use this for her revenge. She was going to make sure Bradford's family never forgave him for his many sins including fucking around on his wife with someone other than her. They say nothing is more dangerous than a woman scorned and Bradford is going to learn that firsthand.

"Probably because Bradford made her sign a nondisclosure agreement. The only thing that man cares about is appearances and illegitimate grandchildren from women who don't meet his strict standards are problematic in his mind." With those words, Faye began to tell her the complete truth about the entire messy situation in France including her own part and what happened. She didn't need to lie because sometimes the truth is better.

"Why are you telling me this?" Betty asked, obviously wary of her.

"Because, maybe, I don't want that for you."

"I thought you told me you're not a nice person. I don't think you're that altruistic." She shot back. There was definitely hope for this one.

"I'm not. I want my daughter to actually speak to me," She said voicing the one justification that Betty would not find morally unacceptable. "You need to convince her that I'm not this horrible person that she thinks I am."

"I'm not so sure of that. I mean you have been sleeping with a married man for the last two decades." Faye smirked at that.

"Maybe there is hope for you. You seem like you trust everybody but you don't," Faye replied with a smirk.

"I'm from Queens." That explained so much, Faye thought to herself.

"So was I, once upon a time. You and I have a lot in common. I know you're the reason why Amanda passed the tiara test. Even at _Mode_, we know about the great Betty. You have potential. I don't want to see you waste it."

"By having Daniel's child?" Betty asked worriedly.

"By thinking you have to choose," Faye shot back trying to keep her voice neutral. "I couldn't be Amanda's mother and be the EIC of a fashion magazine, that was only a few months from closing, if I couldn't turn things around. Maybe I chose the wrong thing but I still chose. It's not the same world now. Maybe, I don't want to see you end up like me."

"So you are going to help me become you?" she asked skeptically.

"I'm going to help you become you and you will help me get my daughter back." Those motives were partially true.

"I can't make Amanda do something that she doesn't want to do. I'm not even sure if I trust you right now." Betty replied doubtingly. It was better than a no.

"But you can talk to her. Talk to Daniel and once you do, you will realize that I am your only hope of protecting the child that you're carrying from a man who has screwed over a lot of people, including myself." After that, Betty quickly left the apartment, leaving Faye alone with her salmon dinner.

* * *

Daniel really didn't think his entire life would come down to the words on a sheet of paper. Yet, here he was in his hotel room with the results of the DNA test in his hands unable to open the envelope. He still wasn't sure what he wanted the results to be.

Daniel has been to Lucy's house three times since the revelation that his father really was an absolute ass who was sure it was in his own best interest to keep DJ's existence a secret from both his possible fathers. He was a good kid who was holding up remarkably under the circumstances. Daniel wanted to ask Betty for tips on how to help DJ get through this but he couldn't figure out how to explain what was going on without telling her the entire messy situation.

For the last couple of weeks, they have mostly talked about his meetings in Paris and the revelation that Amanda was the unfortunate spawn of Satan herself. Daniel was really glad that he was too obsessed with Betty to even consider taking Amanda up on her offer, when his mother suggested that he take a DNA test to make sure Amanda was not his sister. His father paid to have DJ disappear; he could see the man convincing Faye to give up Amanda by dangling the EIC position in front of her.

Daniel found it odd that he was more freaked out over the possibility that Amanda could be his sister then finding out DJ was his son. Finding out he had a new sibling, especially a sister, would change everything. No matter what the test said, he was going to have to raise DJ when the inevitable happened. The idea did not scare him as much as it should have. He wasn't so sure what Betty's opinion would be.

Every time he mentioned kids in the last two weeks, she would freak out. That may have something to do with Jordan's pregnancy. Between the morning sickness and having to contend with Bradford's lawyers, anyone would be terrified of having a Meade child.

Daniel's lawyers said it would be easier if DJ was his biologically (at this point, he's pretty sure DJ must be a relative of some sort because he acts too much like Daniel and Alex for it to make sense otherwise). Lucy was planning to sign custody over to him regardless (thus proving how bad her other options were in his mind) but it would be harder for her parents to fight him if he was the biological father.

Of course, they wouldn't be fighting him for DJ's best interests but rather a share of the hefty trust fund that Bradford left for his only grandchild. Lucy didn't touch a penny of it. She invested heavily in tech stocks and had the good sense to get out before the bubble burst. DJ's trust fund was probably healthier than his but that was mostly because Daniel went through a lot of it very quickly before his girlfriend showed him the wonders of things like Target and Grocery shopping.

He was worried about the upcoming custody fight. He already had his horrible reputation working against him, along with the fact that he was the epitome of bachelorhood. Being the uncle, instead of the father, would make the custody situation more problematic. His lawyer was already suggesting marriage, if the DNA test points to Alex being the father. His response was to laugh in the guy's face. Maybe, if he actually picked up his phone 11 years ago, he would have did that but that was before Betty and she was the only person he would ever consider marrying. He didn't love Lucy, even if DJ already had his heart.

Compared to what he feels now for Betty, he's pretty sure he never did.

Then there's the fact that, if Alex turned out to be DJ's father, that meant that not only is his mom terminally ill but his father committed suicide only a little more than two months beforehand. Fortunately, because of Bradford, the world at large still believed it was a skiing accident. That was the only thing Daniel was grateful to Bradford for. He would never tell DJ the truth, especially if the man turned out to be his father and not just his uncle.

What worried him the most was Betty's reaction. If he was DJ's father, will Betty see him as if he were that guy who completely fucked over her sister? It would hurt him if Betty saw him that way. Then there was the fact that regardless of what the DNA tests said, he was going to have to stay in France indefinitely. At a minimum, he would have to stay until the custody situation was straightened out. The lawyers said that it would be easier if he was in the country.

Then there was the fact that he didn't want to uproot DJ from his life, if he didn't have to. Claudette already told him he would have a place at Mode Paris, if he wanted one. That would probably require him to remember all the French that he forgot in the last 10 years, not that he knew much to begin with. He did have an eye for style and Claudette argued that was more important than being able to speak the language.

He wasn't sure if Betty would want to do a long distance thing. This month has been hard enough. Surprisingly, he hasn't been tempted by the models but he was worried about Betty. She was 20 years old. She had more important things to do than play happy family with a 31 year old man raising a 10 year old. She was a beautiful woman, who could have any guy, now that she saw her true value.

He didn't think her moving to France was a possibility either. She still had another year of school. Also unlike him, she was actually close to her family and he was not sure if she would be willing to move across an ocean for some guy that she hasn't even been dating for two months yet. Maybe if he actually gave her the ring that he found in a French boutique shop a couple of days ago but she wasn't ready for it. He wasn't ready for it. He only got the ring because it reminded him too much of Betty to just let it sit there.

So, if everything was going to change regardless of what the test actually said, why was he still afraid to actually open the envelope? The results of the DNA test arrived 30 minutes ago and he has been locked inside his room ever since. Yet, he has not looked at the results. Let's just say, he was grateful for his phone to ring, for reasons other than the fact it was Betty calling him.

"Did you just finish dropping off dinner to Satan?" he asked after her initial hello. "I don't know why you're doing that. I don't think she eats actual food, just the blood of the innocent." Daniel was not exactly happy that his girlfriend has been spending quality time with the woman who destroyed his parents' marriage. Oh, who is he kidding, his father destroyed his parents' marriage and Faye Somers was just one of the women that he screwed, both literally and figuratively.

"Amanda asked me to. The woman just had a heart attack," she answered simply.

"You're too nice sometimes. It's difficult for me to be sympathetic to the woman who purposely rubbed her affair with my father in my mother's face for decades. Thanks to her, I have to have a DNA test once I get back to make sure Amanda is not my sister." Daniel said with annoyance.

"Would it make you feel better, if I told you Faye said, that she didn't start sleeping with your dad for another two years and she really hates him right now?" Betty told him in a sweet voice.

"Thank you, God." Daniel said looking up at the sky before coming back to reality. "How much does she hate my father?" Daniel asked.

"Enough to tell me this crazy story about your father blackmailing Lucy into keeping the fact that you got her pregnant a secret." That revelation actually caused him to drop his phone.

"Shit," of all the ways that Betty could have found out about this, he didn't expect Faye Somers of all people to tell Betty the truth. Why the hell did he listen to Marcy?

"Daniel, what are you not telling me?" Betty asked, after Daniel stayed silent for too long.

"Faye's story is not that farfetched and she probably knows more about what happened then I actually do. In addition to finding out my ex-girlfriend is extremely ill and cheated on me with my brother, I found out that she got pregnant when we were together." That's when he recounted everything that has happened over the last few days.

"That's consistent with what Faye told me. Although, in her version of events she was the one who convinced Lucy to take the deal." He rolled his eyes at that part because he just doesn't believe it. Faye is not a nice person.

"Why did she tell you this, other than to get back at my father?" Daniel asked warily. Faye Somers does nothing unless it benefits her. The word altruistic is not even in her vocabulary.

"She wants me to help her with Amanda." Betty explained. Although, that doesn't mean that what she wants is necessarily an evil thing.

"So I assume you got a DNA test?" Betty asked after things became too silent.

"The test results arrived about 45 minutes ago. I just haven't been able to bring myself to open the results." He told her honestly.

"What happens if DJ is your son?" Betty questioned. It was a question that he has been asking himself many times over the last few days.

"The same thing that happens if he's just my nephew, I will take care of him. You know I don't like your sister because she hates me but I feel sorry for her. That guy that got her pregnant was a complete asshole for not wanting to be in Justin's life. I don't want to be the guy who flakes out on his kids. And if it turns out he's Alex's son, I have to step up."

"You're a good person, Daniel." Betty said, as her voice broke, as if she was about to cry. "If something happened to Hilda, I would do the same thing."

"That's why I have to do this." In his mind, if he doesn't do this, he will never be worth Betty's time.

"So, if nothing is going to change regardless, why are you so afraid to open the envelope?" Betty asked him pointedly.

"I don't know, I'm just scared. I wish you were here with me." This would be so much easier if he wasn't alone.

"Me too. Maybe it's best if you treat it like a band aid," Betty suggested.

"You're right," Daniel said as he just open the envelope. A lone tear quickly rolled down his cheek as he read the results.

"It says that I am DJ's father," Daniel told her with a shaky voice and for the first time during the course of their relationship, he truly lied to her. DJ was going to be his son no matter what, what did DNA matter? DJ needed a living father anyway.

To be continued.

* * *

All positive and/or redirected feedback appreciated and encouraged. Please review.


	12. Breaking bread with people that hate you

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who read or reviewed the last chapter. I really am going to try to update more than once a month. This chapter is late due to various issues involving the evils of email that I won't get into. However, Heather AKA TMadison AKA DNBMeade did a great job getting this chapter back to me in only a few hours yesterday. I actually have the rough draft of the next chapter done and I'm just proofreading. I will proofread faster with reviews.

This chapter takes place in early April 2005.

* * *

Chapter 12: How to Survive Breaking Bread with People That Hate You.

"I can't believe your father is inviting the evil one to Sunday brunch." Daniel said, into his phone, as he changed shirts for the eighth time. He was meeting with Lucy's parents to break the news that DJ's father was back in his life. It was their lawyer's idea, even if both knew it was going to be a disaster.

Lucy agreed with Daniel's plan to let DJ and allow the world at large to think that he was the child's biological father. Only she and the courts would know differently. He just hoped that they had enough time to get everything together… before she ended up like Betty's mother.

From everything Lucy has told him about her parents when they were dating and now, he knew that tonight's dinner would go badly, which was why he was text messaging his girlfriend pictures of himself wearing various shirts to get her opinion.

As Betty's sister pointed out over the phone, they are only going to see him as the bastard who got their daughter pregnant; no matter what he was wearing. That's okay because he thinks the two are leeches who are counting down the days until the cancer finally takes the life of their only daughter.

He wondered how they would react to the fact that Lucy would be leaving in a week to consult with various oncologists in the states. Although Jordan's mother is a heart specialist, she knows people and his friend managed to get Lucy appointments with some of the top oncologists in the country. He knew the situation was bleak but he did not want DJ to deal with losing another parent, even if the young boy had no idea that he lost the first one to the horrible disease of depression.

At the same time, he had to be practical and do what was best for his son and that meant preparing both himself and DJ for a time when Daniel will be his sole caregiver. A few days ago, DJ and Lucy moved into the new house that Daniel was renting closer to DJ school. Betty actually suggested it (sort of), much to his surprise. She remembered how hard it was for her mom to take care of everything, when she was at her worse.

Telling his girlfriend about DJ was a good thing. First of all, he now had the emotional support that he needed to get through this. Second, Betty has a lot of experience with preteen boys even if her nephew sees fashion week as his personal equivalent to Disney World. Although, most importantly, she knows what it's like to deal with a mom who is sick. She has definitely kept Daniel from putting his foot in his mouth around DJ. Actually, Betty has prevented him from saying stupid things to Lucy, as well.

Okay, Betty was beyond furious that he would be spending another two weeks in France before coming back to the states for a little while but she understood that he couldn't just leave DJ. At least, she wasn't jealous that he was spending so much time with his ex-girlfriend.

Although, it was mostly because Betty knew that he was only getting along with Lucy for DJ sake, and he wasn't sure if he could ever forgive her for what she did. If she didn't sleep with Alex, Daniel wouldn't be dealing with this mess in the first place, even though he loves DJ.

Of course, maybe Betty was okay with things because she was still under the impression that his time in France was only temporary. She still thinks that DJ and Lucy are staying with him at a hotel, not his new apartment. He hasn't told her yet that he will be moving to France for at least the next year, if Lucy decides not to undergo treatment in the States. He hoped Lucy would consent to this, but he wasn't sure if the woman wanted to be away from her friends.

His plan B was to convince Jaime to let him be Hudson's Paris contributor, as he shadowed Claudette at MODE Paris.

Okay, his real plan B was to get his girlfriend to accept a year-long internship at MODE Paris or to accept a Meade Publication sponsored scholarship to study for a year at the school of her choice in France. He doubted that Betty would turndown such an opportunity. Besides, he didn't like Betty under Faye Somers' influence and according to Jamie, the woman was already trying to poach Betty for MODE. This would be the perfect solution.

"I know she was really mean to your mom but she's trying. It's not like she's still sleeping with your father or even wants to be alone in a room with him. She just wants to be there for Amanda. Besides, I'm pretty sure Wilhelmina is the real puppy kicker among the two. She's been really mean to Amanda and I think she's…" Betty cut herself off mid-word but Daniel already knew what she wanted to say. Daniel had already been tipped off to Wilhelmina Slater's latest scheme to take over the company or whatever the hell she was planning.

"Sleeping with my father?" Daniel prompted.

"Yes," Betty replied simply.

"Betty, I'm not surprised by anything my father does anymore. Jamie got an anonymous email from somebody calling himself Alex Suarez about the fact Wilhelmina is screwing my father to get ahead." Daniel explained. "Personally, I think it is her new assistant playing had games with an alias but who knows."

"It's possible. Faye doesn't trust Wilhelmina at all," Betty told him.

"That's okay because I don't trust her," Daniel shot back.

"I know you don't. I'm only helping her get to know Amanda better and that's only because Amanda is my friend." Betty told him for like the fiftieth time.

Daniel personally feels that she's doing this because she misses her own mom so much and doesn't want Amanda to miss out on time with her mother.

"What did she promise you in exchange for helping you get Amanda to speak with her again?" Daniel asked dubiously.

"A spot in the YETI program," Betty told him a little too quickly. It was the toughest program to get into in the industry. It was also the fast-track to getting an editor's job. He knew that Faye could easily get Betty into the program because she was the most respected editor in the business.

"It's a good program. Although, you have to work at a magazine for a year before you can get in." He told her slightly concerned, even if he knew Faye could probably circumvent that particular requirement.

"By the time I go through the program, I will have almost 2 years' experience. I'm not going to go until after I graduate and the baby is born. I mean…" Betty started stammering.

"I get what you mean. You want to help Jordan out. I think that's a good thing." Daniel supplied quickly.

"Of course, that's what I meant." Betty said slightly nervous. "I also need to help you with DJ. How is that going to work with you being here in New York and him being in France? I know you don't want to be like Justin's father." He really did not want Betty to ask that question.

"From what you've told me, actually meeting DJ puts me ahead of Justin's father." Daniel said, trying to redirect the conversation. He did not want to have the custody discussion now. He knew Betty would not like his answer, if Lucy does not want to seek medical treatment in the states.

"Did I tell you that Hilda and Justin ran into him at the grocery store yesterday and he pretended to not even know her or his son? Of course, this is after he showed off his new girlfriend." Betty said, actually sounding angry, which was never a good sign.

"No but your nephew did email me about it. You know he's still getting into your personal account." Because of this unpleasant habit of her nephew, he'd been sending all the less appropriate emails to her Blackberry.

"I'm not surprised. Justin does like you and like you said his biological father is out of the picture. Trust me; I'm glad that you're not like that. How's this going to work? I mean…are you going to be in Paris a lot more or is DJ going to come here? I know he and Lucy are staying with you right now, but what about the long-term, especially with her being sick?" Betty said, asking all the questions that have been bouncing around Daniel's mind for the last few days.

"She is considering getting treatment in the States. That's why will be back in New York next week. But really, I don't know how we're going to do this. It really depends on how okay Lucy's parents are with everything. That's what this dinner is about tonight."

What he's telling her is not necessarily a lie, but it's not the complete truth. He hates that he's not being 100% honest with her, but he needs to do what's best for DJ.

"I hope it goes well," Betty tells him sincerely, just as her sister starts yelling at her to help with the cooking.

"I do too." Daniel said as he exhaled. "Actually, I hope things go well for Amanda. I like her even if she is the spawn of Satan." Amanda has been emailing him a lot, most recently to get his opinion on how to get Marc and Jamie together, even though Jamie knocked up Jordan. Though, it was weird that she has been sending him a whole lot of parenting books in the last few weeks. Considering how nosy Amanda is, she probably knows about DJ.

"You're just happy that there's no way she can possibly be your half-sister," Betty said, with a laugh as Daniel could hear an annoyed Hilda in the background.

"You know me so well."

"Where's the second shirt? It makes your eyes pop. I'll call you later." Betty said, just as Hilda grabbed the phone and hung up on him. Again, he wasn't that surprised. Hilda has been nastier to him than ever in the last few weeks, and they were not even in the same country.

An hour later, he was sitting through a very stuffy dinner; where he had to listen to Lucy's parents call him various derogatory things in French. He may barely be able to order in French, but he does know all the curse words. They were not happy about Lucy going to New York to talk with other doctors and even less happy about Daniel, being back in his son's life. That was probably because they would be losing their future meal ticket now. The dinner turned ugly quickly and poor DJ was there to hear all of it.

To keep himself from stabbing Lucy's father with the dinner fork, he decided to start text messaging his girlfriend. It was more productive than staring daggers at the man in front of him.

* * *

"Okay, please explain why we're having all your friends over here for lunch?" Hilda asked, as she cut up the tomatoes for the salad. Practically everything else was done. Her father was having way too much fun cooking for Ms. Somers. "They're not here to help you break the news to…" Hilda started in a whisper, even though their father was on the phone with someone else in the other room.

It's been a month and she still hasn't told her father. Since she doesn't live at home anymore, it's a little easier to keep this secret from him. As long as she doesn't throw up during this lunch, she should be fine (more like as long as her sister stays quiet about it she will be fine).

"I will tell Papi when Daniel gets back," she interrupted. "It will be easier to do it together." Betty told her sister, but she wondered if that was an excuse.

She really does not want to tell her father at all. He was going to be so disappointed in her. "My friends are coming over because Amanda would only agree to meet with her biological mom again if dessert was involved and it took place at a neutral location. Jordan is bringing Amanda over in an hour and Jamie agreed to bring Ms. Somers. Besides you know how dad loves to cook."

Jamie and Amanda's biological mom have called some sort of truce in an effort to take Wilhelmina Slater out. Ms. Somers is upset that she is taking over her magazine during her leave of absence.

Okay, she was really mad that Wilhelmina convinced Mr. Meade to not allow her to return to work until her doctor clears her. That means that Faye will not be going back to MODE until June at the earliest. Jamie is angry about the fact that she has used her new relationship with Mr. Meade to get Jamie's budget cut by twenty percent for the next quarter.

Okay, Jamie is really upset that Wilhelmina was so mean to Marc when he was her assistant. Betty thinks that Jamie may have a crush on his assistant and is using the situation with Jordan as a way to avoid whatever was going on. Daniel completely agreed with her. Despite the problems with Mr. Meade, the weird thing was that both Jordan and Jaime seemed happy about the baby, once they got over the initial shock, at least it gave them something to focus on besides their Alex related grief. Maybe in some cases accidents can be a great thing, but not hers.

"I know. He's been preparing for this now for days. Then again, so has my son. Justin has been running around the house, rearranging things for his idol for days. He cleaned his room **_voluntarily _**and he spent 30 minutes this morning picking out my outfit." Hilda said rolling her eyes just as Betty's phone chirped.

It was a text message from Daniel. Unfortunately, Justin has been playing on her cell phone again and has changed Daniel's name in her address book to Sexy Meade. Actually that sounded more like something Amanda would do, especially because her own phone now refers to her as 'She who needs Braces'.

Sexy Meade: Is it wrong that I want to stab the grandfather of my son with a dinner fork?

She started to type out her reply but her sister took her phone again.

"You're supposed to be helping," Hilda chastised.

"I am. I've been down here for the last hour and I think I have earned a break to respond to my boyfriend's text message." Betty said, taking back her phone.

"Of course, it is a message from Daniel, who is off playing happy family with the model girlfriend, while you are here trying to keep the fact that you are carrying his child a secret. He was supposed to be back last week but he's not. Do you even know if he's coming back?" Hilda asked bitterly.

She wasn't planning on telling her sister about Daniel having a son in Paris but Amanda let something slip, in front of Hilda and she had no choice but to explain the entire situation.

There was also the fact that her sister liked to listen in on her conversations with her boyfriend and interrupted very private said conversations at the worst possible times. It wasn't even like she told Amanda but Amanda knows everything. Hilda was okay with it at first until she ran into Justin's father at the grocery store. She was pretty vicious to Daniel on the phone today.

"You know I don't even think we are talking about me and Daniel anymore. You're upset that Santos has a new girlfriend," Betty said, realizing the real cause of her sister's concern.

"No, I'm not upset about the girlfriend." Hilda said this in a way that told Betty she really was upset. "I'm upset that he acted like he didn't even have a son. I don't want you to go through the same thing when the rich boy chooses the model over you." Hilda said bitterly. It was obvious to Betty that her sister was jealous.

"You know I'm so tired of you thinking so little of me and of Daniel. Every time does something that shows he's not as evil as you want him to be, you find another reason to hate him. I can't believe you're upset that Daniel is actually stepping up and taking care of his child," Betty said incredulously.

"He's not taking care of your child," Hilda shot back with a hiss.

"Daniel does not even know. I have not really told him anything yet, at least not intentionally." At that, Hilda forced her to tell her about the whole accidental thing earlier, because apparently Hilda wasn't paying attention to that part of the conversation. Betty was kind of shocked by her sister's response.

"You're staying in school after the baby is born!" Hilda didn't even say this as a question but as a shocked statement.

"Yes," She didn't even have to worry about the scholarship anymore because her internship at Meade Publications would cover tuition or at least that's what Faye told her, when she agreed to help the woman reconnect with her daughter. The first part of that was lunch this afternoon.

"Babies are expensive. Don't expect us to take care of everything just so you can be a schoolgirl. I didn't get that option, and neither should you." There was that jealousy again.

"Both Meade and the University of Manhattan have excellent daycare. Don't worry, I will take care of my own kid." For the sake of keeping the peace, she will not mention all the times that she had to babysit just so her sister could go out on a date. Actually, the only reason why she even met Daniel in the first place was she covered for her sister.

"But you go to Queens College, how is that going to help you?" she asked skeptically.

"I'm transferring. Meade has a relationship with U of M, where my time at Hudson can count as school credit and they have more online classes that I can take." She agreed to switch schools, when Jamie pointed out that it would be easier for her to balance everything, if she went to a school that would allow her work at Hudson to count for school credit. Queens College would not do that. Because of the company's relationship with the University of Manhattan, she was able to get in, even if her grades were a little lower than usual right now. She was already enrolled for the summer program. Technically, her fall semester will be credited as an internship even though she knows part of the time she will be on maternity leave. This way, she will get some school credit and she will only be graduating a summer later than originally planned.

"You're transferring? Have you even talked to Papi about this?" Hilda said with annoyance.

"Yes and I think it's a good idea," her father said, walking back into the room with phone in hand. She had talked to her father about this without mentioning the baby but she really hasn't talked to Daniel. He knows that she was considering switching schools, but she did not give him the details, that may explain why she is getting emails about various programs in English at various schools in France. "It's a better school and her job will pay for most of it. Your boss really thinks you have a lot of potential, no matter what."

"Jamie said that?" She had no idea that Jamie talk to her father other than the conversation they had over the phone, when her boss explained the benefits of Betty switching schools.

"Your other boss, the one I've been sending you dinners for. She called a few minutes ago to see what type of wine she should bring." This explained who her father was talking to.

"She shouldn't be drinking," Betty said, before she began worrying about what exactly Ms. Somers told her father, especially because they switched the Spanish. Her father usually did that when he didn't want her to know what he was talking about. Her parents did that a lot when her mom got sick and when they found out Hilda was pregnant and that worried her.

"Neither should you," Hilda mumbled, before adding, "Because you're not 21 yet." Her father then sent her out of the room to help Justin, which gave her time to text message Daniel back. It also got her out of the room before another argument in Spanish broke out.

Betty: Don't feel bad. I kind of want to do the same thing to my sister.

* * *

After two hours in the dreadful company of DJ's other grandparents, Claire came to two conclusions. First, she would rather be in the company of the woman who was fucking her husband behind her back for nearly two decades because she appeared to be a more decent human being.

Second, she really wished she was drunk right now. If she was forced to spend another minute in their company, her thirty-six days of sobriety would be completely undone. They were intolerable.

The worst part of the evening was DJ saw everything firsthand, including when they vowed to fight Lucy's decision to sign over custody of DJ to Daniel. She wondered how her grandson could sleep so peacefully, in front of her after what happened at the highly unpleasant dinner. She was personally surprised there was no property damage.

DJ was such a sweet boy. She was starting to get to know her grandson better now that Lucy and DJ were staying with her, Daniel, and Marcy. Lucy was not healthy enough to take care of herself and her son, and this way, she would not have to deal with her dreadful parents.

They were completely dreadful. Lucy's parents only seemed to be concerned with getting access to their grandson's trust fund, not the health of their only daughter. At dinner, they didn't even bother to ask Lucy how she was doing. They even seemed disappointed that Lucy was seeking alternative treatment options. Again, it was enough to make her want to drink again.

But she would not. DJ deserved a non-evil, non-crazy, grandparent and despite the alcoholism, she seemed to be the most qualified. She needed to stay sober for him. Unlike Lucy's parents, at least she cared about the child. Claire knew they were only going to fight Daniel for custody of DJ for one reason and one reason only, and it had nothing to do with their grandson and everything to do with his multimillion dollar trust fund.

Even if he did help create this mess in the first place, Bradford was currently too caught up in Wilhelmina Slater's cleavage to see anything beyond his own 'needs'. Claire was well aware of Wilhelmina's latest attempt to overthrow Faye as EIC. Marisol always had the best gossip. She was looking forward to her return to New York to inform the woman that she controlled MODE, not Bradford. If she thought Wilhelmina could do a better job than Faye Somers, Claire would have given the job to her years ago.

She didn't care about Bradford. Not anymore, not after what he did to Alex and DJ. It was over. She knew she would have to talk to the man when she returned to New York next week and she was not looking forward to this. She was uncertain he could say anything to her that would convince her not to serve him with divorce papers. She was not sure there was anything worth saving between the two anymore. This last month showed that if she wanted to survive long enough to see her grandson grow up, then she could not stay married to Bradford. The constant infidelity and the pressure of living up to his standards are too much. She couldn't do this any longer.

She was better in France. She wasn't surrounded by the memories of her dead son and her husband's unfaithfulness. Here, she had a grandson who loved her and Daniel. Even helping sort out the problems at MODE Paris helped her stay focused on her sobriety. Coming here was the best thing for her and not just because she found DJ. She's starting to think that she found herself again in this country.

When she was sure DJ was asleep, she walked into the living room to see Marcy and Lucy quietly chatting in French, as Daniel sat oblivious on the couch, most likely text messaging his girlfriend. She wondered if Daniel would have acted like this in high school, if they had text messaging when he was 16. Daniel seemed like the epitome of a teenager in love.

She wondered what they could possibly talk about for the last three hours, considering she knew for a fact that there was one thing that Betty was not telling her boyfriend. Again, Marisol always did have the best gossip and Faye's daughter easily caved under the promise of a pair of Prada shoes. She was personally hoping for a granddaughter this time. She also hoped that Bradford would stay so focused on Jordan, with her expert legal team, that he completely overlooked the woman that was actually carrying his grandchild.

Because she needed to talk to her son about the problem of Lucy's parents before she spoke to the lawyers in the morning she resorted to something that she hasn't done since Daniel was in high school. She actually pulled his phone out of his hands.

"You can talk to your girlfriend later. We need to decide how were going to handle the other grandparents before I meet with the lawyers in the morning," She told him in a way that was very reminiscent to scalding.

"I'm ashamed I'm related to them both," Lucy mumbled, under breath in heavily accented English that she barely understood.

"They make Bradford seem nice and considering he was responsible for my brother's … For my brother hiding the fact that he has-had a boyfriend by also having a girlfriend simultaneously that's saying something," It almost seemed like Daniel was going to tell her about what really happened to Alex, but he stopped himself. (Also like her. He was still having difficulties referring to Alex in the past tense.)

"There's no need to call the lawyers in the morning. Lucy and I both knew this was a strong possibility. We are prepared for it and so are the lawyers." Daniel said stoically, before channeling his teenage self. "Can I have my phone back?" Claire's response was to roll her eyes.

"I'm not even talking to Betty right now, but Justin. She's currently throwing up in the bathroom and I would like to see if she's okay,"

She gave him his phone back. She wondered if he figured it out yet. Actually, she wondered if she should tell him. "If it makes you feel better, her dinner with the devil of MODE probably went worse. Amanda tried to make a run for it twice before Jamie bribed her with a pair of Milano Blahniks. Faye and Amanda have spent most of afternoon only talking about shoes." Apparently, he hasn't figured it out yet.

Lucy and Marcy were laughing at that. Maybe, under other circumstances, she would have too but she understands what Faye is going through probably better than anyone else in the room. At the moment, Claire thinks Faye is braver than her. At least, Faye stayed in Amanda's life. Faye was also brave enough to tell her and wanted to have a relationship with Amanda. Claire abandoned the little boy that she named Tyler and never even thought of trying to contact him until January, when she lost Alex. Faye never missed a single important moment in her daughter's life even if Amanda never realized that.

"I still think dinner with my parents was much worse." Lucy told the group.

"That is not possible. Jordan and Marc got in a food fight over Jamie resulting in food covering every surface of the house and Betty throwing up in the bathroom. Also, according to Justin, his mom and Betty have been fighting all afternoon. Actually, they've been fighting for the last two weeks. She made some weird comments about betting not being able to drink the wine that Faye brought because of me and Betty ended up throwing a dinner roll at her. Okay, maybe that's what really started the food fight." Claire seriously wondered how oblivious her son was sometimes.

"Your girlfriend wins." Lucy said quietly.

"I told you it was worse. And I didn't even tell you about the fact that Faye is now flirting with her father. Justin was just telling me about how they keep whispering to each other in Spanish. Although the only words he can make out are baby and grandfather,"

She personally blamed her drinking when she was pregnant with Daniel for him not picking this up. Even if she didn't already know that he got his girlfriend pregnant, she would know now.

"It's better than her flirting with your father." She heard Marcy mumble under breath.

During the last few weeks she has told the sobriety coach the entire sordid story about Faye and her husband. Marcy was the one who made her send flowers after phase heart attack. She said it would be cathartic. It was enough to allow her to have a short five minute conversation with the woman to find out her role in the DJ fiasco. It was harder for her to hate the woman who helped protect her grandchild for reasons Claire understood in a way no one else would.

"Your girlfriend is pregnant." Lucy was more observant than Claire gave the woman credit for. She also had a tendency to be very blunt and that was not a good thing in this instance. This resulted in Marcy choking on her water and Claire dropping her own glass, hard enough to break it.

"That's not possible." Daniel spat out as if he was saying that more to himself, than Lucy. "We have not—we are going slowly. Her last relationship ended badly in a 'we had to get a restraining order' sort of way. Actually, we met the day she caught him sleeping with somebody else. I don't want to push her." Considering the look that she was giving Daniel, it was obvious Lucy did not believe him.

"Don't look at me like that. You don't know me anymore, Lucy. I do not think we ever really did know each other. I didn't think you were the type of person to screw my brother, but you did." Daniel said sadly and Lucy looked away in shame.

"Daniel when I met her, she threw up on my shoes. Faye's heart attack was triggered by Amanda and Betty holding pregnancy tests," Claire said as she decided it would be better if this came out now.

"That's not possible, we haven't had sex," Her son said defensively.

"Really, Daniel, I know you too well." Claire said dubiously.

"If you came anywhere near her vagina, it's possible." Marcy said bluntly.

"We use condoms, except for those first few times. Really, I don't want to be having this conversation with my mother, her sobriety coach, and my ex-girlfriend." Daniel said, as if he wanted to flee the room.

"Considering you already have a 10-year-old, you're aware that's not foolproof." Marcy shot back as Lucy looked away as if she was trying not to say something.

"I know that." Daniel snapped.

"But she may not tell you anything if she's not sure the child is yours." Lucy said sadly.

"Well, unlike some people, Betty believes in monogamy." At that moment, Lucy said something in French that she could barely understand. The only thing she sure of is that the equivalent to the phrase 'I'm sorry' was in there somewhere.

"Didn't you just say she was dating some other guy up until you guys met in January? What woman would want to tell her new boyfriend that she's pregnant by her ex-boyfriend that she had to get a restraining order against? She definitely would not do it over the phone. You've been gone since Valentine's Day." Marcy prompted.

Claire would think the same thing if it wasn't for her conversation with Betty's friend, Amanda (because Jordan and Jamie wo

**_uld not tell her anything until after she already knew). The baby was definitely _**

Daniel's.

"I think I need to get back to New York now," Daniel said, as if he finally got it.

To Be Continued


	13. Amanda Tanen has a big mouth

_Author's Note: Thank you to everybody who read or reviewed the last chapter. You are receiving a very quick update because I actually started writing this chapter before I got the last one back from proofreading. An update this quickly will probably never ever happen again. I planned for this chapter to be longer, but when I started writing it I felt that these scenes needed to be isolated._

_Some plot points have been borrowed from the season three episode, "Crimes of Fashion" and Tim and Chloe are borrowed from the Season One episode, "Lose the Boss"._

* * *

**Chapter 13: Amanda Tanen (Somers) has a big mouth and horrible timing.**

"You do realize that the entire office believes that you're bulimic now?" Amanda said, as she sat on Daniel's couch, absently looking through the last issue of Hudson.

She was technically there waiting for Jordan to show up so they could go to lunch. Jordan had an interview with _Sports Now_, the Meade Publication, which was equivalent to _Sports Illustrated_, and was located just two floors above Hudson. Considering the fact that Bradford Meade has requested a DNA test as soon as possible to prove that Jordan was not carrying his grandchild, Betty was surprised that he was letting Jordan interview for a special correspondent's position.

Due to the baby Jordan has decided that it was better for her to cover extreme sports instead of participating in them. The more cynical side of Betty believed that this could all be a ploy or some means to manipulate Jordan. According to Daniel, he did keep Lucy employed at _MODE_ Paris for several years, until she got ill. Betty couldn't help but wonder what will happen to her when Mr. Meade finds out about her pregnancy.

The whole situation worried her enough to make Betty wonder if her nausea was caused by something, other than the baby. Betty quietly sipped on a ginger ale as she proofread the freelance articles for the June issue with Tim Brad and Chloe Voight on the cover, while she tried not to think about the disastrous shoot from yesterday.

Jamie allowed her to be the gopher for the shoot and things went badly, which is why she has proofreading duty until she gets out of the throwing up at unusual times part of her pregnancy. She purposely believed Jamie chose the most mistake laden articles possible for her to review to get back at her.

"That's because you started that particular rumor." Betty said. She begrudgingly looked up from her computer screen. She wanted to get it done before they left for lunch, which was unlikely because of Amanda distracting her. Amanda has been around a lot lately, mostly to avoid Wilhelmina.

"You threw up on Tim Brad." Amanda said pointedly. "I had to come up with something believable to counter the pregnancy rumor. You know that if Daddy Meade hears that from the rumor mill he is going to know who got you pregnant." Betty knew that she was right, but she doubted it would help.

"I don't think anyone will believe that because I can't zip up my pants anymore." She has mostly been wearing dresses the last few days. She knew she was going to have to go maternity shopping soon, but that will make this all too real. "I did not throw up on Tim Brad. I almost threw up on Tim Brad. He was really nice about it." Betty said sheepishly.

"Same difference and he was nice about it because Jamie told his handlers the truth and everyone knows he loves children, including the unborn." Amanda said, giving Betty her 'you're absolutely crazy look'. "I don't think he noticed you at all. He was too busy staring at his costar. They are so fucking."

"He's married, to someone else." Betty said, giving up on getting any more work done. Besides Jordan should've been there at least five minutes ago, unless she stopped off at Jamie's office first. The two have come to some sort of arrangement since the great Sunday brunch debacle. That meant that Jamie and Jordan were making out on her couch again but this time sober and she and Amanda were taking Marc to Boy Town Friday, so he can completely forget about his inappropriate crush on his boss.

"Your point?" Betty didn't have time to respond to Amanda's flippant comment because that was when her dad walked into her office carrying one of those individual ice cream cakes from his favorite specialty store. The last time that her dad got her one of those was when he broke the news that the chemotherapy wasn't working anymore and that her mom wanted to spend what time she had left at home.

"Whether you doing here?" she asked worriedly.

"I had a job interview in the city and I thought I would stop by. Your boss, Ms. Somers enjoys my cooking and because her doctor wants her eating regularly now she hired me to be her personal chef." This was not completely surprising because her dad and Ms. Somers really hit it off at brunch Sunday. Also, she has been very complementary of his food. Actually, she will only eat the stuff that her dad cooks.

"Faye doesn't eat. She never did when she came over for family dinners when I was little. She does like alcohol," Amanda said thoughtfully. "Actually, so do I. Why didn't I see this stuff before? She was always more interested in me than all my parents other friends. Why didn't I see it?" Amanda asked no one in particular.

"Remember that she had a heart attack a month ago and needs to take better care of herself now." Betty mentioned softly trying to steer the conversation away from the sensitive subject of Amanda's biological mother. Her friend was still having trouble adjusting to that revelation. She was now out of the denial phase but now she was firmly in the anger phase. This may explain the dinner roll that she threw at Ms. Somers.

"It was your fault that my mom had a heart attack." Betty would be happy that Amanda referred to Faye, as her mother, if not for what she said next, "If she did not see me holding your pregnancy test, the heart attack would've never happened. If the heart attack did not happen, I would have never found out that my beautiful perfect life was built upon a lie. Because of you, I have to deal with the fact that my old _family friend_ is my mom who never wanted me. Thanks a lot Betty. I'm going to go raid Jamie's emergency stash of Godiva that he keeps for his baby's mama." At that Amanda walked out of the room completely oblivious to what she just did to Betty.

Betty had no idea what to say to her father. She was just thankful he wasn't screaming at her yet. Instead, she just sat back down in her chair as her father handed her the ice cream cake.

"I already knew." Her response was to eat half the cake in one spoonful.

"Did Hilda tell you?" Betty asked because she knew her sister would rat her out. She has been so angry with Betty, especially since she found out about Daniel having a son that was Justin's age.

"You threw up twice Sunday and maybe your sister is not that discrete." He said, as an afterthought. Betty was sure he was referring to her alcohol reference when they were preparing dinner.

"Are you disappointed in me? I made the same stupid mistake Hilda did and I should know better. I mean, I love Justin and I can't picture the world without him, but maybe Hilda would be in a better place if she didn't get pregnant at 16," Betty said, practically rambling.

"But you're not 16. There's a big difference between 16 and 21. If you're old enough to drink, you're old enough to have a child." Betty knew that did not come from her father because she's heard it several times over the last few weeks, during her one-on-one training sessions with Ms. Somers.

"You got that from Ms. Somers. She has mentioned it several times to me. She doesn't want me to think that having a child right now is going to be the end of my dream. She and Jamie have been working on a way for me to be able to work at Hudson and possibly later on Mode and still finish school almost on time. That's why I'm transferring to the University of Manhattan."

"She's a smart lady." Her father said thoughtfully.

"She's made a lot of mistakes, like sleeping with Daniel's father for two decades." That last part was mumbled under breath.

"But she has learned from those mistakes and so have you. Actually, a smart person learns from their mistakes, but a wise person learns from the mistakes of others. I know you will not end up like your sister. The problem was not your sister getting pregnant at 16; it was that she gave up and allowed the situation to define her completely." She remembered saying something to Hilda like that in anger when she first found out she was pregnant. "At least, I know that you're having this child with someone, who is not going to be like Santos." She was sure that he was referring to the Daniel and DJ situation.

"That's the reason why Daniel is taking responsibility for DJ. He thinks that Justin is a good kid that deserves better. You probably hate him now." Betty said worriedly.

"I like him better than your last boyfriend," her father said surprisingly.

"Because having accidental illegitimate children that you're taking care of is still better then stalking and cheating," At those words, she quickly looked around to see Daniel standing in front of her. She immediately got up from her desk and kissed him.

Okay, she may have forgotten that her father was in the room until he started coughing.

"Sorry Mister Suarez, it's been a while," Daniel said sheepishly.

"That's okay, I was young once," her father replied, with a nod.

"It was supposed to be another week," Betty said as she gave him another quick kiss.

"Yeah, well, mom found out about Wilhelmina and Jordan was able to get Lucy an appointment with one of the top oncologists in the country tomorrow, so we came early. It's not like DJ is unhappy that he's going to have to miss a few more days of school." Daniel told her with a smile.

"How is Lucy doing?" her dad asked with genuine concern.

"She is taking it one day at a time. DJ and her friend Claudette said that she's in better spirits than she has been in months. I think it has something to do with the fact that she no longer has to worry about her parents getting custody of DJ, if she's not able to fight this."

Nobody looked at Daniel at that moment because both she and her father are well aware that Lucy may lose this battle. Betty was most afraid of that and not just because she's worried that she will lose Daniel, if he has to become a full-time father. She doesn't want another child to lose a mom like she did. Maybe deep down, that is why she's helping Ms. Somers with Amanda.

"How exactly did your mom find out about Wilhelmina?" Betty asked because that was a much more pleasant subject, then talking about sick moms with cancer. Everything is still too raw. She really hopes Lucy does beat this because at this point, Betty isn't sure she can survive watching this again.

"She emailed mom a picture. Though, I'm pretty sure Marisol tipped her off beforehand because she didn't even bother to throw her BlackBerry at the wall. The good news is, she is still sober." Daniel told her ominously. Betty was just happy that Mrs. Meade had not returned to her previous destructive behavior. Her child deserved one grandmother, at least.

"Is this the same lady who's trying to take over Ms. Somers job?" Betty just nodded her head. Okay, that explains what the two were talking about in Spanish at brunch. "She does not seem like a very nice person."

"She's not. Then again, neither is Faye. At least, Wilhelmina rubbed it in my mom's face in private and not on the cover of the December 1986 issue," Daniel said bitterly. She did not have time to tell him how much Faye has changed since her heart attack because at that moment Amanda came back into the room.

"I'm still mad at you, but I can't get in to Jamie's office because the door is locked and the blinds are shut. I think that's why Jordan is late. Do you have any chocolate? All I could find was the cheap stuff in the bottom of Marc's desk. I don't even know where he is either," Amanda interrupted.

"I may have bought you an entire box from Paris, like you asked. It's downstairs in the car," Daniel told her.

"You're back and you brought me French chocolate." Amanda said, hugging him. "Are you back early because Betty finally told you that she's pregnant?" She was expecting Daniel to freak out but he said nothing.

"You know I always wanted to try the MODE cafeteria. Justin says they have something called a Kate Moss." Her father said dragging Amanda away.

"But I want my chocolate," Amanda complained.

"I will get you a chocolate sundae," he said pulling her out of the room again.

"But they don't serve ice cream in the MODE cafeteria, they barely serve food." Amanda protested.

"Then, we will go somewhere else." Her father said just as Amanda's phone started to play some weird song. However, Betty already shut the door. She really did not want to have this conversation now.

"You really are pregnant?" Daniel asked her in a tone that told her he wasn't as shocked as he should be.

"You already knew." Betty accused because that was the only thing that makes sense.

"Lucy suggested the possibility after I told her about what happened Sunday. That, may be the real reason why I am here right now. The thing with Wilhelmina and the doctor's appointment were really convenient. While I'm here talking to you, mom is visiting Bradford, upstairs." She would like to ask him about that but she knew she could not take the cowardly way out of this conversation.

"Are you mad at me?" she asked on the verge of tears and he just wrapped an arm around her.

"Don't cry. It's okay. I'm not going to leave you and I'll be with you every step of the way. I can't be mad at you for getting pregnant by your stupid ex-boyfriend, when you've been so good to me about DJ. This just means DJ has a new much younger playmate."

That's when she realized that Daniel was under the impression that it was Walter that got her pregnant. It made sense. Technically, she and Daniel never had sex. Technically, she and Walter did, even if she enjoyed what she did with Daniel a lot more (and she actually had an orgasm).

She was just about to correct his assumption when Amanda walked into the room again.

"Okay, it turns out that Jordan wasn't having sex in Jamie's office. That mean Scottish lady that will not let me borrow shoes from the closet found her unconscious in one of the stairwells. They're waiting on the paramedics."

At that they ran out of the room, she didn't have time to think about correcting Daniel's assumption because she was too worried about Jordan to think about anything else.

* * *

Claire isn't that surprise that Bradford's assistant tried to stop her from walking into his office. She has known that a meeting with Jacob White was code for a midday 'liaison' for the last 15 years; that alone made her realize that she was making the right decision. It didn't hurt her at all to walk in on Bradford and Wilhelmina post coitus.

"Don't bother covering up," she said harshly. "You have nothing that I haven't seen before, especially because most of it came out of the catalog. He's your problem now." At that, Claire threw the divorce papers at the man she used to love.

"I want a divorce," she told him, coldly. The words were cathartic. This was her first step in moving forward.

"Claire," he called out, trying to grab her hand.

"Don't try to talk me out of this. I need this to be healthy. Do you really think you can convince me otherwise after I just found you fucking this Faye Somers wanna-be?" Claire said icily and she looked directly at Wilhelmina.

"I'm nothing like Faye Somers." The woman shot back.

"No, you're just screwing her leftovers." Claire told her venomously before turning her attentions back to Bradford. "It's over. It's been over for nearly 20 years since the moment I saw Faye holding that music box on the cover of MODE. There's nothing you can do that can change my mind this time. You have done a lot of horrible things to me over the years but you killed my son and you concealed my grandchild from me. I will never forgive you for that. I'm tired of living in the bottle." Claire shouted, barely able to keep her tears from falling. She would not let him or Wilhelmina see her cry. They did not deserve her tears.

"Don't blame your drinking on me," he retorted, harshly. "You're well aware; we have an open marriage that you yourself have taken advantage of." She wanted to laugh at that. The only reason why she slept with Cal was because Bradford was already fucking around. "What Alex did was not my fault. What grandchild are you talking about?"

"Did I mention who I ran into in France?" She asked with fake innocence that cause Bradford's face to fall instantly.

"I assume you're talking about Lucy. I did it to protect Alex. He was just starting out. He didn't need a kid. I also didn't want Daniel to know that his girlfriend cheated on him and got pregnant by his brother. It was better, if I just made it go away." Claire was confused by those words. Daniel told her that DJ was his son, despite the fact that he looked like Alex's clone.

"What are you talking about? Daniel said the DNA test told him that DJ is his son." Before Bradford could respond, Wilhelmina interrupted.

"As much as I enjoy this little family drama, I do have a 2 o'clock. I am running a magazine now." Wilhelmina said, as she put her bra and dress back on.

"Enjoy it while you can, because Faye will be back very soon." Claire said smiling.

"I don't know. There's been some talk of making her an ambassador. Condoleezza adores her. Maybe, she wants to retire and spend more time with her recently discovered daughter." Claire wanted to laugh at that. She knew that if it was Faye's choice alone, she would not be leaving, except in a body bag.

"You think screwing the boss will help you get that job but it will not. Your snugly bear may own Meade Publications, for now, but I already own MODE. When I'm done with you, Bradford, you'll be lucky to have two nickels to rub together. I used to love you, but now I don't even know if I ever knew you. I don't think it's possible to love a man with no heart." With that, she left before the tears could fall or she found herself in the brandy.

To Be Continued


End file.
